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| Website | eMusic.com |
Rhapsody.com |
Napster.com |
(Distontinued) |
| Description | Download and keep 30-75 mp3s every month from library of 2,500,000+ songs. | Music subscription offering unlimited access to 3,000,000+ songs. | Music subscription offering unlimited access to 5,000,000+ songs. | Yahoo cancelled its music services, and now offers Real Rhapsody – Try Rhapsody instead! |
| Free Trial |  14-day free trial + 25 free mp3s |
14-day free trial |
7-day free trial |
(Yahoo Music is now Rhapsody) |
| Music Library | 2,500,000+ songs |
3,000,000+ songs |
5,000,000+ songs |
(Yahoo Music is now Rhapsody) |
| DRM | no DRM (Mp3) |
 Microsoft DRM |
Microsoft DRM |
(Yahoo Music is now Rhapsody) |
| Notable Notes | Keep all mp3s. Unlimited burning. |
Access your iTunes library. Winner of PC World Innovative Products, CNET Editor’s Choice, and DEMMX awards. |
Free Creative ZEN V mp3 player with 1 year of Napster To Go. |
(See Rhapsody) |
| Device Support | All devices |
Selected mp3 players |
Selected mp3 players/phones |
(See Rhapsody) |
| Pricing | $9.99/mo for 30 mp3s $14.99/mo for 50 mp3s $19.99/mo for 75 mp3s |
$12.99/mo for Rhapsody $14.99/mo for Rhapsody To Go |
$12.95/month for Napster $14.95/month for Napster To Go |
(See Rhapsody) |
| Free Trial Sign-Up |  |
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(See Rhapsody) |
MY RECOMMENDATION: First, definitely do the eMusic free trial, since you get to keep the 25 mp3 music downloads no matter what (DRM-free, baby). Next, check out the other free music trials, try each one for 5-10 minutes to compare the “feel” of each to see which fits you best. For example, eMusic is DRM-free, Rhapsody is the most innovative and fun, Yahoo! Music is the cheapest, and Napster has the biggest song catalog. Which online music features are most important to you?
The main argument for subscribing is the chance to pay the price of a CD every month for a ton of music. That’s pretty much it. With eMusic, you’re basically paying $0.30 per mp3 download (or $0.00 for 25 mp3 downloads, if you do the free eMusic trial). With the Napster, Yahoo Music, and Real Rhapsody music download sites, you’re (theoretically) getting free music, since you’re getting unlimited access to millions of music downloads at any time. It’s sort of like cable TV — you subscribe and continue to listen. Also, all the music in the above subscriptions are legal music downloads that are free of spam, free of spyware, and free of viruses (which can sometimes be problematic with freemusicdownloads and mp3s in P2P music networks).
“DRM” is short for Digital Rights Management. DRM is used to prevent the illegal copying and sharing of digital music. Real Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, and Napster all use DRM. eMusic Mp3 files are DRM-free, meaning they can be copied and shared an unlimited number of times, and can be transferred to any mp3 player or mp3-compatible cell phone. Free musicdownloads rock.
The free music trials give you access to the music download services for a limited period of time. Once the trial ends, you need not pay anything, just cancel the subscription. (Don’t forget, or you’ll get charged.)
Only eMusic provides you with music you can use as iPod downloads, since they’re DRM free. Rhapsody To Go and Napster To Go enable you to take your music subscriptions with you on selected Mp3 players and mp3 cell phones; check the music sites to see which devices work. Yahoo! Music Unlimited only works on home computers.
Originally, I compared a number of freemusicdownload and music subscription services, along with their respective free music trials, for work. Recently, I thought, “Hey, free music rocks. I should share this with everyone.” Lo and behold, I did. I also added affiliate links, because, why not? (Hey…I’m not a good coder, and it took me 5-7 hours to create this page..!) I hope it proves useful to someone. Enjoy!
