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Post by keesha on Dec 18, 2018 0:16:06 GMT
I think I am ready to dive into the world of paid music streaming. What do you use and why? Do you worry about putting time and energy into creating playlists but someday for whatever reason they won't be available to you? Is it possible to to listening offline? I really don't know much about this as podcasts always win my attention. TIA!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 19:35:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2018 0:24:45 GMT
We have spotify. The kids started using it because they offered a student rate. Then when they raised their rates because they were no longer students, it was cheaper to just to do the family plan as it covers up to six users. I have a love hate relationship with it as there are times I ask Google Home to play my playlist and it can't find it. But I do love that when I do create a playlist, Spotify will offer suggestions as to which additional songs I may like to add. Also, if you do a individual premium account, you also get free Hulu and Showtime. Unfortunately you do get that will the premium family plan, but the family plan also only costs $14.99/mo.
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,899 
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
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Post by milocat on Dec 18, 2018 0:35:41 GMT
We have Spotify. It can be played offline. But it uses very little data to find to download a few new songs. I love that I have access to all the songs vs purchasing songs/albums outright that you may not love or what to listen to for years. If it's trendy or you are just in the mood to listen to a song once just search it, you don't have to buy individually.
Also with the family plan we all can have the same song without having to figure out how to purchase it once and see if more than one person can download it.
I'm not worried about losing access to it one day because all those cassettes and cds I purchased are gone now also.
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keithurbanlovinpea
Pearl Clutcher
Flowing with the go...
Posts: 4,313
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Dec 18, 2018 0:39:31 GMT
I <3 Spotify. I started using it because I had a discount code. Now we have family plan. I love being able to connect my Apple playlists (my older stuff that I own was on Apple) plus being able to download for offline use. I am a big "temporary" consumer of music in that I like being able to binge listen to an album or a handful of ongs, then when I get tired of it, I ditch it. Plus, Alexa will play my playlists from Spotify.
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SabrinaP
Pearl Clutcher
Busy Teacher Pea
Posts: 4,467
Location: Dallas Texas
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Post by SabrinaP on Dec 18, 2018 0:40:04 GMT
We have Amazon Prime Unlimited. We have the plan that is 7.99 per month, but you can only stream from one device. You can download the music onto your device and play that way on multiple devices.
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Post by mcjunkin on Dec 18, 2018 0:48:32 GMT
I do Pandora, have since I learned about it here years ago. The free one. There is a paid commercial-free option, and the next tier offers offline listening I believe. You can dabble with it for free to see if streaming is something you are going to like. They are integrating podcasts now too. I have always heard that Spotify and Prime offer more options in the newest releases. I think the others will let you pick songs to some degree. Free Pandora will let you create a station around a song, and it will play occasionally, but not on demand.
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Post by katlady on Dec 18, 2018 0:54:46 GMT
I use the free Spotify. I get hassled by one of my friends when the commercials comes on.  |
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Dec 18, 2018 1:24:28 GMT
I went with Apple music a couple of months ago. DH already has a membership and it was only $5 more a month to add me. I get access to his library/playlists as well as my own. I use it so much now, along with Apple Radio, that I'm beginning to consider dropping the SiriusXM subscription I have in my car. As soon as I get in the car, my phone connects via Bluetooth and my Apple Music playlists start playing. Beginning today, I will be able to use Alexa to play my music as well. DD has had Spotify since she was in college (6+ years) and loves it. I am a big "temporary" consumer of music in that I like being able to binge listen to an album or a handful of songs, then when I get tired of it, I ditch it. This is me. I don't know how much money I've spent over the years to purchase digital versions of music, only to never listen to it again after I get bored with it. So if I ever get rid of the Apple Music subscription it won't be a big deal to me if I lose that music. |
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Dec 18, 2018 1:32:54 GMT
I have amazon unlimited for $9.99 a month. It allows access to the entire Amazon library, so more options than prime music. I think you can get a family account for $14.99 a month, for six devices, but I have my amazon music on at least two devices-- my phone and my laptop-- so I'm not sure what the difference is. Maybe it's that those devices are both logged in via my regular Amazon account.
I always wondered what the big deal was about streaming and was adamant that I wanted to buy my music on CDs or as digital downloads to own the music for forever instead of renting it each month. Before I had a smartphone, I had an MP3 player, but the music management software and service where I was buying digital must (Rhapsody) were discontinued. So, I started buying music from Amazon because it was mp3 compatible (apple music was (is?) not).
I can still rip my CDs and put them on my device and access them via Amazon music or the other player (google?) on the phone. But the streaming is really nice. Hear something on the radio I like? I can look it up on the phone and play it. I can download it if I want and listen to it offline. I have done that for some white noise and a handful of soundtracks-- things I want to listen to while I'm working, but when I don't necessarily want to be wasting data. If I cancel my sub, I think I won't be able to listen to those any more, but I have them at least as long as I keep the streaming service.
There are channels and prepopulated playlists. I can make my own playlists. I do find some of the interface to not be as intuitive as I'd like, but maybe that's because I'm late to online music.
I still do buy some music in disc format-- it's easier to listen to CDs in the car than it is to hook up the phone and play amazon music, especially on the short drive to and from work. But I like streaming a lot more than I expected to.
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LeaP
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,939
Location: Los Angeles, CA where 405 meets 101
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Post by LeaP on Dec 18, 2018 1:39:35 GMT
We have the Spotify family plan and I love it. If I had to choose, it might be my only subscription. It has a huge library and I like to listen to stuff you would never, ever hear on the radio. At the end of the year they give you a playlist based on what you listened to during the year and I am having so much fun with mine. There is a cover of Despacito with 26 different versions and I laugh out loud every time I hear it. So worth it.
You might want to try a trial for each of several providers to see which one suits you best.
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Post by Merge on Dec 18, 2018 1:44:19 GMT
We have family versions of both Apple Music and Spotify. DH and I prefer Apple Music; the teens prefer Spotify.
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Post by Skellinton on Dec 18, 2018 3:04:16 GMT
I just use Pandora. My 80’s alternative statIon and my Elvis Holiday station are perfectly tuned to my taste by this time.
I am way too cheap to pay for a streaming station, if there is an artist or song I really like I just buy it.
You should try the free versions of Spotify to see what you think, I personally prefer pandora, but I know I am in the minority.
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Post by annabella on Dec 18, 2018 3:11:58 GMT
But what if you're in the mood to listen to a specific song, and/or on repeat mode, can you do that with a streaming service?
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128
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Post by M in Carolina on Dec 18, 2018 3:12:31 GMT
Google Play. Rob has it and added my phone as a second device. He listens to music at work when he’s not on a phone call.
I mostly just search for something and listen or my list of recents. We have a device that lets us play our phones over our car stereo. So we use Google Play for that. Rob also had Stitcher for podcasts.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Dec 18, 2018 3:17:27 GMT
But what if you're in the mood to listen to a specific song, and/or on repeat mode, can you do that with a streaming service? You can with Apple Music. |
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Post by cmpeter on Dec 18, 2018 3:20:34 GMT
Apple Music family plan.
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Post by Zee on Dec 18, 2018 3:23:56 GMT
Spotify is what I prefer, though I have carefully cultivated a few stations on the free version of Pandora over the years.
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Post by busy on Dec 18, 2018 3:24:51 GMT
I have Apple Music and am quite happy with it. Spotify is great too, but it's more geared toward playlist listening and I am definitely an old school music fan and I listen to whole albums most of the time. You *can* do that on Spotify but (the last time I used it), it's not as straightforward as on Apple Music. Plus I have a huge library of owned music in iTunes that isn't available on streaming services and I wanted all of it available in the same app.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,316
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Dec 18, 2018 4:37:12 GMT
I-tunes... It has all my old cd's that DH added in there, and if I like a song I buy it and it doesn't disappear. I like making/adjusting my playlist, and having all my music in one place.
DH uses whatever Amazon Prime comes with, and was pretty annoyed when they took two Foo Fighters songs off the playlist/ station or whatever it's called that he listens to.
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azredhead
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,755
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Post by azredhead on Dec 18, 2018 4:55:30 GMT
Spotify here too! It's the only subscription I have now. And yes a love/hate relationship although I've been able to find stuff I thought was long gone. Like Rattle and Hum one of U2s originals. They had the full album. You can download stuff so if I wanna listen I have to download it before I get on the plane if I don't have it on my playlist.Same wiith Adele, the only one I didn't have the full album for was 21. I had used Amazon Prime before but when I downloaded some of my older albums It only downloaded half of them and not in order so I'd have to search for it.
I also like it because I can keep it playing while I'm on other apps. It helps wind me down if I've had a rough day or just need to shut brain off. I do the random stuff or my old stuff depending on my mood.
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Post by underwatermama on Dec 18, 2018 5:01:37 GMT
I have Spotify family plan (because teenagers) and Pandora which I have a special rate for because when they switched over to monthly billing they offered a discount as long as you continue to pay.
I like them both for different reasons (playlists vs. what Pandora picks out based on preferences) which is why I still have both.
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luvnlifelady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,428
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Post by luvnlifelady on Dec 18, 2018 9:35:58 GMT
My kids have Spotify but I use Amazon. I don’t know if it has an offline option or not though.
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Post by disneypal on Dec 18, 2018 11:10:21 GMT
We have Amazon Prime Unlimited. We have the plan that is 7.99 per month, but you can only stream from one device. You can download the music onto your device and play that way on multiple devices. Same here - I love it!! |
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Post by Linda on Dec 18, 2018 12:38:21 GMT
free Pandora - because I like finding new music that I end up liking - I have some carefully curated stations but sometimes just pick a song and see what pandora plays.
and itunes - because we have a gazillion CDs and it's just easier than dealing with CDs
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 19:35:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2018 15:42:34 GMT
At the end of the year they give you a playlist based on what you listened to during the year and I am having so much fun with mine. That is one of my favorite things about Spotify. I look forward to that new playlist every year. |
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Post by Yoki on Dec 18, 2018 15:56:50 GMT
I use Pandora. I ended up with a free year of the first paid level, so you can listen off-line, skip unlimited times & repeat songs. I love that it throws in new songs based on things I've liked and I've discovered a lot of new music that way. I like that the playlist continues to evolve just by me liking or not liking songs instead of having to physically add songs I like (even though I do that sometimes, too). I'm pretty sure that I'll be paying the monthly charge once the free trial is over because no ads is so nice.
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Post by GamGam on Dec 18, 2018 18:32:19 GMT
Our son showed us Spotify, and we quit Pandora, switched to Spotify, and are very pleased. I have created several playlists, and it is not difficult to do so. And one is specifically for my 🚗. Another is exercising music, and I did 2 playlists of Christmas music; one Orchastral and the other Choral. You do not have to actually download to your pad or phone to create the playlist. This is important to me cause I do not have many gigs to spare on my phone.
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Post by annabella on Dec 18, 2018 21:17:53 GMT
I have created several playlists, and it is not difficult to do so. So you get to pick all the songs you want? |
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Post by GamGam on Dec 19, 2018 2:02:53 GMT
I have created several playlists, and it is not difficult to do so. So you get to pick all the songs you want? Yes. I do a search for albums/discs and pick the ones I want. I do this on my IPad as it is easier than using my phone. And if I do add one and later decide I don’t want it, it can be deleted easily. |
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Post by chlerbie on Dec 19, 2018 3:50:35 GMT
I have Amazon Prime Unlimited and I love it. It has just about everything and I've got a bajillion playlists.
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Southern Side eyed Pea 
