Best MM + Streaming Service Combo? Spotify? Google Play?
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 5:27 pm
It seems to me that for the bulk of music users, the general direction is subscription services that stream pretty much anything you want from any place you have a connection. For a small amount of money $5-$10/month you get access to a huge library, ability to store songs locally to play when you don't have a net connection, unlimited skips on radio channels, etc.
However, many of us "power users" still like the enhanced functionality a standalone player offers like Media Monkey such as better control over device sync including automated conversion, volume leveling, smart play lists, etc. etc. However we are not in the majority of users, obviously.
I've got a phone with 32GB and my music files are taking up over half the storage. Granted memory is only to get cheaper, the utility of storing my files locally, especially considering I can selectively "cache" local copies of anything I want from paid streaming services, is becoming less useful. Also consider mobile device subscriptions these days are starting to offer unlimited bandwidth more and more.
What would happened if most of the functionality of something like Media Monkey was merged into the online streaming service players? A novel idea.
To this point, my best effort to produce the most seamless integration between local media management and online streaming services is combining Media Monkey with Google Play. Google Play serves as a backup of all my music storing up to 20,000 tracks, for FREE. It also allows me to access my music from anywhere whether I have my own mobile device with me or not. The frustrating part has been lack of synchronization of my MM playlists. Creating smart playlists on many of these streaming services is either not possible or very rudimentary compared to MM. Quite surprising really considering the deep pockets behind some of these services. I know there is a roundabout way to sync the playlists by sucking them into iTunes then into the streaming service. Very clunky and frankly it's been so long since I did it, I can't remember the exact process.
I'm amazed you can't just import an M3U file (at least for Google Play.) Wouldn't it be REALLY cool if there was a streaming service that could read the MM song ratings AND the Smart Playlists? I've always wondered why a service with deep pockets didn't just use MM as a model for development of functionality in their own player. I suppose they look at it as an ROI on development costs figuring the vast majority of users don't need the features?
So this brings me to my question. For you MM users out there, what have you found to be the most power, feature rich streaming service that integrates the best with MM? Wouldn't be cool if MM had a feature to "Sync to Spotify Account?" Syncing songs AND playlists including song raings? Or have I been out of the loop so long that it's already there and I just don't know about. Or is there still a big void?
However, many of us "power users" still like the enhanced functionality a standalone player offers like Media Monkey such as better control over device sync including automated conversion, volume leveling, smart play lists, etc. etc. However we are not in the majority of users, obviously.
I've got a phone with 32GB and my music files are taking up over half the storage. Granted memory is only to get cheaper, the utility of storing my files locally, especially considering I can selectively "cache" local copies of anything I want from paid streaming services, is becoming less useful. Also consider mobile device subscriptions these days are starting to offer unlimited bandwidth more and more.
What would happened if most of the functionality of something like Media Monkey was merged into the online streaming service players? A novel idea.
To this point, my best effort to produce the most seamless integration between local media management and online streaming services is combining Media Monkey with Google Play. Google Play serves as a backup of all my music storing up to 20,000 tracks, for FREE. It also allows me to access my music from anywhere whether I have my own mobile device with me or not. The frustrating part has been lack of synchronization of my MM playlists. Creating smart playlists on many of these streaming services is either not possible or very rudimentary compared to MM. Quite surprising really considering the deep pockets behind some of these services. I know there is a roundabout way to sync the playlists by sucking them into iTunes then into the streaming service. Very clunky and frankly it's been so long since I did it, I can't remember the exact process.
I'm amazed you can't just import an M3U file (at least for Google Play.) Wouldn't it be REALLY cool if there was a streaming service that could read the MM song ratings AND the Smart Playlists? I've always wondered why a service with deep pockets didn't just use MM as a model for development of functionality in their own player. I suppose they look at it as an ROI on development costs figuring the vast majority of users don't need the features?
So this brings me to my question. For you MM users out there, what have you found to be the most power, feature rich streaming service that integrates the best with MM? Wouldn't be cool if MM had a feature to "Sync to Spotify Account?" Syncing songs AND playlists including song raings? Or have I been out of the loop so long that it's already there and I just don't know about. Or is there still a big void?