I started using google play music after I got a Google play gift card as a Bday gift. It has some nice features as far as an App goes, but it also seems uselessly difficult. Some music is on my phone, some is on the cloud, I have no idea how to tell easily without having to dig for it. To do some things, I have to click the settings button. Other things have to be found 2 or 3 layers deep into menus. Its all quite unnecessary. When you buy a song, you basically unlock access to stream it to the phone, not necessarily download it. I have figured out how to take the streamed file and move it into my SD card for permanent storage (ya know, since I bought it and all), but it still seems like I shouldnt have to jump thru so many hoops. Im sure theres some bull-M3 in the EULA that states Im not allowed to keep the stuff I pay for unless I cut down the biggest tree in the forest with a Herring...but I figure that if I buy it, its mine...right?...RIGHT?!?
Is there something Im missing? Is there a better way? I didnt care much for my Androids native music player. I downloaded Rocket Player free, which is kinda nice, but I like having album art and meta data, and purchasing thru the play store gets you all that right off the bat, so it seemed like the better option of the 3 when I first started using it. But now play just seems bulky and difficult.
What is the hives opinion?
if you are going to use google play, just buy on your PC and download the MP3s, manage them yourself. job done.
Thats what I have done...I havent tried using the app on my phone at all to get music/media
Check out eMusic or MP3 Panda. They both used to be cheaper than Google Play, but as Google grows I'm sure its prices have dropped.
The cool thing about it is that I can upload what I have in my library (not necessarily purchased on Google) up to 20,000 tracks and I can access it from my phone or work PC wherever I am. I've been using it for over a year now, and I like it. It's a bit cumbersome at times, but they have been pretty good about making it better, especially the Android app. Not to mention it's free.
You can "pin" songs from your library to your mobile device, which is cool. This allows you to access it offline. If you have a phone that has large memory capacity, it makes the iPod obsolete. I can also stream it via Bluetooth in my car, and it works great!
Cons: It takes forever to upload music, and my stupid work PC is no longer working with it on any browser as of today.The App is a data hog if you stream. The streaming radio offered is not free.
Overall, I think the good outweighs the bad.
Files purchased off Play is nice if youre playing them in Play Music. But, not if youre using the files anywhere else . Album art/track name etc are not actually in the file itself, but elswhere in the app. If you go waaaay down into the app, you can find the actual MP3 file, and move it into a different folder (where 90% of the music I owned before I had an Android resides), but then you have to rename it because play uses numeric names for whatever reason, then go get the album art etc etc. (note - an app called DroID3Tagger is free and works pretty well for this, especially if you lived thru the Limewire/bearshare/Napster days and have volumes of MP3 files).
I guess I will continue to buy the music from play because I have a balance with them, and I like knowing the music I purchased was done so by legal means, but I think Im going to abandon the app for actual player use. Its just not very user friendly overall. I was hoping there was something I was missing, some tip that might help me turn the corner on the learning curve. Eventually they may get the bugs worked out, but its definitely not for me as it is...
Yikes, that sounds like a giant PITA. I'll keep Spotify, any song they show available you can stream, pay for premium and you can download your playlists to your phone with 2 clicks.
I've had Spotify for 14-15 years now?
