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Real Rhapsody Review
Rhapsody offers three different price plans depending on the range of services you want.
- $14.99 per month for Rhapsody To Go which gives you
- Unlimited access to the whole music library
- Access to the service and your playlists from anywhere
- Access to the MP3 Download Store
- Download DRM encoded tracks to your portable player
- $12.99 per month for Rhapsody Unlimited which gives you
- Unlimited access to the whole music library
- Access the service and your playlists from anywhere
- Access to the MP3 Download Store
- Free for Rhapsody 25 which gives you
- Free streaming of 25 tracks per month
- Access to the MP3 Download Store
- MP3 Download Store Costs
- $0.99 cents per track
- $9.99 per album
Credit Card, PayPal or Online Check
- US residents only!
- Unrestricted access to over 7 million songs!
- 14 day free trial allows you to sample all the premium member features
- From the makers of the hugely popular Real Player
- Get recommendations based on your playlists
- Tune into channels for ad-free continuous music
- Create and share playlists
- View playlists which celebrities have created
- Compatible with home entertainment devices like Tivo
- System Requirements:
- Windows PC
- Mac
- Linux
- Rhapsody To Go only works with a Windows PC
- Stream any tracks for free (non-ipod compatible) or download them through the MP3 store (ipod compatible)
- Add music to your Facebook page
- No need to pay per track!
- Dedicated, easy to use software to access tunes - or just use a web browser
- MP3s encoded at 256 kbps
- "Get Started" wizard to help get you set up
- Artists from all four major labels (Universal, Sony, BMI, Warner) plus independents
- Download DRM free files for $.99 cents a track
- Preview entire songs before buying (for the first 25 previews)
- Compatible with Verizon V-Cast Music system for mobile phone downloads
- Get the lyrics for any track you listen to
Real Rhapsody is one of the biggest, most popular and best value music download sites going. It's not hard to see why, when you take a look at the huge list of great features it offers. Real Rhapsody is a truly exceptional service for some key reasons.
First comes the pure, uncompromising convenience Rhapsody offers. Imagine being able to get at virtually any tune you could ever think of wherever you are. Well, this is what Rhapsody offers. Imagine throwing the best parties with an endless supply of everyone's favourite tunes. On the move you can take any of these tunes with you and change them whenever you get access to a computer (or even change them in the middle of the street if you subscribe to the mobile download service!)
Rhapsody can be accessed not only through the easy to use downloadable software, but also straight through your web browser from any computer, and it will save all your playlists no matter where you access it from. The downloadable software is beautifully designed and gives iTunes a run for its money in the ease of use stakes. It also runs slightly faster as it's installed on your computer and not accessed through a browser. The within-browser software is still some of the fastest we have seen and certainly looks the part.
That's not all. If you happen to own a compatible home entertainment device (such as Tivo) you can access Rhapsody directly through your TV or stereo. What this means is that you can create playlists with the easy to use software which will then be accessible wherever you are, no matter how you access your Rhapsody account. You can also share playlists you have created with your friends to introduce them to new music they might like. It's a bit like the good old days of swapping mix tapes, but with the celebrity playlists which Rhapsody offers you're getting the tape from your favourite musicians. Who fancies grooving along to Isaac Hayes' "Suave Mix" or getting angst ridden over Staind's favourite tunes?
"Yes, but I want more," I hear you say? Well recently Rhapsody teamed up with Verizon to let you download tracks straight to your mobile phone. These are lower quality to make for faster downloads, but when you get back to your computer you can upgrade to the high quality 256kbps downloads.
Regarding Digital Rights Management (DRM) you should know that all the tracks you listen to through the subscription service can be listened to as often as you want and moved onto compatible portable players. You can download as many songs as you like through the subscription-based Rhapsody To Go service, but they will be protected by a DRM mechanism. This means that whatever software/hardware you are using to play the song will have to check that the license on the song is valid before the track will play. There's no hassle with this when using a computer, but it does mean that you will have to connect your portable player to the internet every so often to let it update the licenses. Sometimes this can be a pain, but it's fairly standard as far as DRM protection is concerned. You can think of downloading tunes via the Rhapsody To Go subscription service to be like renting the songs.
However, if you want to permanently own a track or album, Rhapsody offers a separate MP3 download store. For $.99 cents a track you can download a DRM free MP3 file at 256kbs which is yours to own forever. This price is one of the best around and Rhapsody also makes it easy to download full albums instead of just individual tracks. Generally you can get a whole album for about $9.99.
The prices for the subscription service are also some of the best around for such a high quality service. For $14.99 per month you get the Rhapsody To Go service which gives you full access to all of the features that Rhapsody offers. That means unlimited access to the music library, free software for organising tunes and burning them to CD and the ability to put music onto a portable player. Make sure to check that your player is compatible before subscribing however - note that the iPod is not supported for songs downloaded on the Rhapsody To Go service, as it does not support DRM-encoded songs. You will still be able to load and play your downloaded MP3s on your iPod however.
For $12.99 per month you get the Rhapsody Unlimited service which gives you access to the full music library and all the free software. The only difference is that you don't get the ability to transfer the DRM encoded files, which are downloaded through the subscription service, onto your portable player. Tunes downloaded through the MP3 store (which don't have DRM encoding) will still be available to copy onto your portable player however.
Best of all however, is that Rhapsody offers the completely free Rhapsody 25 service, which allows you to listen to 25 tracks per month for free. Each track you stream can only be listened to once and it doesn't count as a free stream if you only listen to 30 seconds of the track - as you get 30 seconds as a free preview anyway. This is really handy if you want to buy a track from the online store because you can essentially get a full length preview of it first!
So there you go: everything you need to know about Real Network's Rhapsody service. If you are looking for an online jukebox-style subscription service then Rhapsody is definitely one of the best in our opinion. The variety of music available and the ability to purchase the tunes to own means that there is something for everyone with this service. The convenience, advanced features, and enhanced usability surpasses many music download services in our opinion.
Click the button below to lock in your free 14-day trial subscription to Rhapsody.com. You may cancel at any time within the first 14 days without obligation and your credit card will not be charged. Check it out here...
RealRhapsody Screenshot
(click to enlarge Real Rhapsody screenshot)
>> Sign-up for your FREE 14-day trial at RealRhapsody.com
RealRhapsody - User Reviews
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Hi there, I'm really pleased with Rhapsody. It's so easy to use. Loads and loads of great songs by all the bands I like. I can download them and take them with me or just stream them over the net. I usually just stream them. The streaming speed is just outstanding. Not at all like other services I've used. Really really fast. I highly recommend it! "
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I've never had any problems with Rhapsody. The streaming is lightning fast! I always queue up a load of songs, and by the time the current song has finished playing, all the other songs have been cached already. Download speeds for the MP3's are also really high. I've heard people complain about the speed of these types of services before, but I have to say I'm impressed. The radio-stations are also great - lots of fantastic new bands and all my favorite old bands too! You can also see who else is listening to the groups you like and see what else is in their music collection! It's a great way to introduce yourself to new bands that are similar to bands you already like. What a great idea!
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