 Music- A non-music lover’s review

Actually, I do love music.  I play a few instruments.  I have a real affinity for music.

But I don’t call myself a “music lover” because I don’t chase discovery and the “next big thing.”  I’m not looking for the hot band no one has heard of or trading tapes of local artists (if that’s even still a thing.)

And I’ve never taken much to streaming.  I’ve never used Pandora.  I briefly tried Rdio, Beats, and most recently Spotify and in every case I felt like I wasn’t “doing it right” to be worth a membership.

I buy music.  I keep it in iTunes (with iTunes Match) and that’s about it.  Nothing more complicated.

So for me,  Music posed an interesting question- would I care enough to engage with a “streaming service."

And so far, the answer is- maybe.

What I like...

I really like Beats1 Radio.  So far it’s been a great way to discover new stuff.  As someone who doesn’t keep up on what’s new or hot or whatever, I’m happy to have smart DJs tell me what’s cool.  

I’ve also really liked the suggested playlists so far.  I think you can already tell there’s a “human touch” as Apple likes to tout.  They flow well.  The “rhythm” is right.  And there’s a great mix of stuff I’m familiar with and stuff I’m not.  I’ve long used iTunes Radio and recently Spotify to play jazz while I’m at work.  But, iTunes Radio in particular, is just a single playlist repeated every day.  I got to know the order and it became monotonous.  At least for now, the  Music playlists are new and different enough that it feels fresh.  Maybe that won’t the case after a few weeks of listens, but for now it’s a nice change.

I like the on-demand playability.  I streamed the new Imagine Dragons album last night and it was good.  I ended up buying it- something I don’t think I’ll ever stop doing.  I like supporting artists with my purchases and I like owning albums I enjoy.  Yes- Apple’s dream scenario, but it’s also how I like my music.  At any rate, I liked that I could preview the album first.  Imagine Dragons is still a new band for me so I’m not at the point where I’ll throw down money just to pre-order (as I do with many of my “favorite” bands).  I’m not sure, though, that this is worth $120 year to me so while it’s nice, it may not prove to be valuable.

What I don’t like...

The interface isn’t great.  Although generally easy to navigate tabs and such, I’m having very hard time understanding and keeping track of what’s “My Music” versus what’s “streaming.”  Because you can add stuff you haven’t purchased to “My Music” which I can only assume will then disappear if/when you unsubscribe.  Confusing.

And beyond that, I still have this feeling that I’m just not doing it right.  “Playlists” and all this mess; it feels like a lot of work to take proper advantage of all this.  Although  Music is by far the best I’ve used, I’m still feeling like maybe I’m just not a music service guy and that I’m not getting the most from all this.  We’ll see how the next 3 months go.  What I really, really want, is for  Music to put good stuff in front of my face and say “here- listen to this.”  And when I do I want to like it.  Obviously far from an easy problem to solve, but if it can get that right, it might find a place in my life.  Time will tell.