Tis the season for a chilly outdoors, sales poking at celebrating a big, jolly red man and people asking me about what holiday music I enjoy playing . And this, my blueberries, is where you're going to get a little disappointed in "The Enoch" ... I don't listen to much holiday music. Music is such a big part of my life, but holiday music always puzzles me. Mostly because of the timing. I love listening to music all the year round, but you get strange looks from people when you are belting out "In Dulce Jubilo" on the highway.
That doesn't mean that I can't direct you to some great holiday cheer using some free tools out on the internet. There are a couple of great ones especially if you are looking for something to play through your store, hold music or phone. Let me break down some of the good ones out there:
1. http://IHeartRadio.com - "I Heart Radio" is a great service that streams radio stations from across the United States. If you are looking for some great online radio (one of my favorites is Rock 101 from Manchester, NH ... grew up listening to them) this is the place to stop. With it's launcher you have a simple and quick way to get a variety of radio stations that you may like to play in the background - for FREE! Oh yeah ... and if you want that "Talk Radio" stuff as well you can get it here. If it's on the radio "I Heart Radio" has it.
2. http://Slacker.com - Slacker Radio is a great way to listen to music you like ... FREE. The interface is nice and the music plays great. And with new artist, and most recently ABC News, putting up new "Radio Stations" exclusively on Slacker it is getting some great notoriety. However, like most online radio stations you have to use the application frequently before you get a great customized listening experience, but there are no usage limits so you can use it as long as you would like. Purchase an upgrade for a year @ $47.88 (or monthly for $4.99) and remove ads, get unlimited skips and remove other "Free Radio"annoyances.
3. http://Pandora.com - Pandora is one of the best free Radio sources out there ... with a couple of exceptions. The Free account only let's you listen to 40 hours. This may seem like a lot of time, but if you listen to a lot of music like I do ... 40 hours goes by in about 2 days. Even still, Pandora's has one of the best, if not the best, suggestion engine out there. And with the ability to have radio stations based on "Categories" and not just Artists it is a great way to find that holiday music you want. And if you wish to purchase a year subscription and bypass the 40 hour limitation it's only going to set you back $36.00. And with it's video series and exclusive video concerts ... that $36.00 is well worth it.
4. http://Last.fm - Last.fm is one of my favorite "Online Music" apps I have found. Sure it has all the perks that Pandora, Slacker and iHeartRadio have (favorites, recommended stations, create a musician profile, etc.) but the thing I love about it is not having to enter in the music I have in my collection. Last.fm is built upon the idea of Scrobbling, or seeing what you are already playing. They have scrobblers for Windows Media Player, WinAmp, iTunes and even iPhone and other Portable Media Players (PMP). This way you don't have to wade through a stream of junk you don't want to hear to get to music you want. It learns what you like by seeing what you are already playing.
But Enoch ... why do I care about these types of Radio Stations when I have plenty of 45's to play? Well person living in my head that I have to give mad props to for remembering 45's, There are a couple reasons why you would want to try an online music service. Here are some of mine in no particular order:
- Discover New Music- There are a lot of new artists and cool songs out there, but I don't have time to track and hunt them down. Through recommendation engines you can discover new music that matches your musical tastes.
- Sharing Music with Friends is Cool - Ok ... sharing is cool, but when you share your music tastes with other people you're able to open dialogs and break down barriers. I'm pretty sure all wars could end if we could get our government officials to take in a Smokey Robinson concert.
- Play Music Based on Mood - If you like "Christmas Music" search for "Christmas Music". If you want music about breaking up with your girlfriend (How could you, Betty!) you can search for that. The power of categories and tags allow for many variations we might not have thought about.
- Stream Music to Anywhere - With modern day Mobile Devices connecting online, Free WiFi hotspots and new gizmos having music you like at your fingertips is nice. These online services allow you to take music not just with you, but set you musical mood anywhere you like.
Also, especially with Last.fm and Pandora, there are wonderful gizmos (like the Logitech Squeezebox System) to bring your online music to a stereo system near you. And there are other great gadgets people are creating to connect your online photo collection to your online music station. Consider in your place of business a rotating stream of pleasant music and your online photo galleries as people walk through your facility. And when they leave they have a similar experience on your website and social sphere.
But most importantly, and the reason why I wrote this ... It's a great way to fill up on that holiday music you're wanting without spending all your hard earned cash on "Holiday Music" that you only bring out once a year. Unless, of course you're like me and like to belt out odd Christmas Songs throughout the year. The Doctor calls it madness when you sing "Silent Night" at the top of your lungs ... I call it being Enoch!