Tuesday Poll: Have you switched over to using Google Music as your primary music source?

by: Kellex | posted 02.14.12 | Polls

Google finally made their new Google Music store official back in mid-November. As a service accessed through the Android Market, it essentially completed the media experience for Google. You can buy apps, books, movies and now music right from your mobile devices or via the web. While it lacks one of the major music labels, it has at least 3 of the big 4 and offers plenty of deals and discounts to make it a legitimate option for music buyers. What we want to know though, is if this has become your go-to source. As in, have you ditched iTunes or Amazon for nothing but Google? Are still sticking with something else? Or are you a bargain shopper that finds the best deal amongst the three?

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170

trumpet444

If I’m buying, I check G Music first then Amazon Mp3. itunes can suck it, unless I need to manage my ipod classic.
SpikedRed

I’ll usually buy music from websites where the CD’s are in some type of used condition, and then rip the music onto my HDD and then resell the CD’s at a very marginal loss. Sometimes, if the music I want is in the Google Music Market, and it happens to be the same for the cost (including shipping), I’ll just by the music from Google. Although, I don’t recoup any money that way. I’m still not down with paying for music online that costs the same for a packaged product on it’s release date, or more. For instance, if I go into a Best Buy and purchase the newest “Herp de Derp” album, the week of it’s release, it’s usually a few dollars less, then after that first week, the cost goes up. There’s money involved in the manufacturing of that CD, and it’s packaging. When I buy a digital copy however, there’s no physical cost to the duplication of that copy. So in essence, I’m not really compelled to buy music at that price, and believe that digital music by all rights and reason, should be less.

I have to say that Google Music (even using the Gingerbread version, c’mon HTC release some RUU’s already for the Tbolt!) has been the BEST application I’ve used lately. I’ve traveled from one side of the country to the other and had TWO, TWO “skips” that lasted about 5 seconds each! I use Google Music, The HTC Thunderbolt, and Motorola ROKR S9 HD headphones and everything is crystal clear for me. The bass response is just fine too.
Anonymous

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I like to look at cover art and liner notes. I like to see my music collection on its shelf. So 99% of the time, I actually buy CDs and rip them myself.
- http://twitter.com/Justinwrites Justin True Anderson
  
  I used to as well. But my collection outgrew the shelving and wall space. I could either buy more shelves, or more music. Music won.
Anonymous

Youtube downloader then it goes back up to google servers..there should be just a way to add them straight from youtube without the hassle..ohh well its all politics
http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Gulyas/709632554 Daniel Gulyas

Spotify.
http://www.facebook.com/mroberte Robert Evans

I was a beta user and have loved it from the start. Now getting it to replace my car stereo is what I want next. The fact that I can have my music where ever and whenever is a major plus for me!

There are its downfalls (if you restore your phone you have to re-download and no lockscreen controls) but for a free service I give it slack.
- http://twitter.com/PaulJWiss Paul Wiss
  
  I have lock-screen controls. Is that ICS only?
Anonymous

For spmsome reason it can’t fine musicmusic
Dougal Jacobs

Google music takes all uploaded music and re-encodes it as 320kbps mp3 for storage, then re-re-encodes it to a lower bitrate for streaming. Horrendous. MP3 (Mpeg 1, Layer 3 Audio) is a horrible nearly twenty year old format that needs to die. AAC is provably superior in every metric and has more relaxed licensing terms than MP3. I won’t touch MP3 with a ten foot pole. Thanks but no thanks google and amazon. Even Spotify’s vorbis audio is noticeably better.
- Anonymous
  
  Well here in the states we don’t really prefer metric…
  - Dougal Jacobs
    
    I considered editing my post to change “metric” to “measure”, but instead I’m going to attempt to make a joke about a 3 meter pole.
Anonymous

I still have my old MP3′s from over 10 years ago randomly about an external hard drive. I’d like to have the file names (album, artist, composer) and cover art updated for them. I’d also like them organized in a way I can find them. I have a lot of classical and various artist music like soundtracks that get thrown into the general artist when I’d rather have those sorted with the soundtrack and composer. Anyone know of a good program that does this? I didn’t really like what iTunes did.

I have about 50 gb of music which doesn’t include my audio CDs. What formats do you guys rip your music at?
- lostsync
  
  This is what I used when I was on Windows: http://www.softpointer.com/tr.htm
  It works great.
Chris O

Does anyone notice issues with battery life even with cached / stored offline music on Google Music? My partial waketime is ridiculous on CM7 with Google Music and it just annihilates the battery.
- http://www.twitter.com/nblufire12 Nathan Patel
  
  what device? nothing wrong on my nexus and i have 4GB of music cached
  - Chris O
    
    Droid Pro, should have mentioned that in the previous post, I get about 4 hours of music time with Google Music compared to the stock music player in the 8-9+ range (depending on how much the screen is on) I also have lockscreen controls for Google Music and use the volume keys to skip songs so I don’t have to turn the screen on.
shdowman

Mix between g music and pandora. Love pandora, but g music wins when i am looking for playlist. Yay cloud..
Davidukfl

Not only is it my main source of music, but my wife and sister have g-music installed on their iphones and listen to my google music account, along with 2 other coworkers
- lostsync
  
  What do you do if you all want to listen to music at the same time? Google Music won’t even let me use my phone and browser at the same time from the same IP.
http://twitter.com/Pollita_Droid Erica M.

I haven’t touched my ipod in like a month. Google music is on all of my devices, two tablets and a phone and i cant wait to have it on my Galaxy Nexus
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000372600312 Joseph Pojunis

Spotify at home on the PC, Spotify on my Galaxy Tab 10.1 using Splashtop Remote Desktop (wonderful quality I might add) and Google Music on my Gnex.
QQMore

I’m probably weird, but I use the Zune music service at 14.95 a month (I actually have a Zune, had it before my OG Droid). I “buy” music using the 10 song credits I get each month for the subscription price. (when I remember to use them)
- Jiahball
  
  Zune software is amazing….sad that its totally underrated…..i switched from itunes and ipod to the zune with the zune hd and it is so much better. When it comes to music i’m zune but as for phones its Android all the way….
  - http://www.getintonursing.com/ Jon
    
    There’s a great app called UberMusic in the android marketptlace. It mimics Zune HD user interface pretty dam well. Even auto download of band picture for background and artist Bio.
- http://www.etsy.com/shop/daisyville Daisyville
  
  Have a pink Zune brick, but I love their software! I BUY music from Amazon occasionally and download from RCRDLBL, too.
  
  I like how you can detect other Zuners in your area and send songs from your device to theirs. Awesome flirting technique! Do iPods have that capability? Just curious.
http://twitter.com/davidmota davidmota

I guess I am one of the few Amazon MP3 Buyers (Not Amazon MP3 App users). What can I say I like their monthly $5 album sales.
Wyveryx

There is only two things that I wish that I could do with Google Music.

1. Set it as the default player
2. Set a sleep timer on it, I still use PowerAmp just for that.
http://www.youtube.com/lanech Lane Chaplin

I get my music off of Amazon, download it, and upload it to Google Music. For some reason, I can’t find many of the things I listen to in Google Music’s store.
Rigor1980

I’m still rocking grooveshark. $3/month is unbeatable
Jeffrey Kaplan

My main source is Amazon because I buy, it downloads and imports directly into iTunes. I’ll buy from Google Music if the price is better, but it’s more of a hassle for me because I then have to manually download the content, add it to iTunes, and then hope it doesn’t get duplicated on GM when the Music Manager sees new content in iTunes and uploads it…

I don’t use GM for listening either, because it does not support live lists and streaming is expensive in both data charges and battery life.
http://twitter.com/BlackTaxi2d Henry S

I PURCHASE VINYL FOR THE ALBUMS THAT MATTER

SHT CAPS
- shdowman
  
  yes!
GNEX(MOTOX)

Love spotify premium… ill buy some songs on gmusic now like exclusive ones like the paradise tiesto version, stopped buying from itunes but yea 10 bucks a month for spotify.. i like it so ill keep it forever pretty much.. If anyone needs help i know how to fix the problem on the galaxy nexus..
http://www.facebook.com/people/Marc-Saegesser/100000105950444 Marc Saegesser

I have a Rhapsody subscription that I use for most of my music listening. I have uploaded all my old music to GM and that’s what use when I’m not using Rhapsody.
Anonymous

The only reason I still use itunes is because I need a desktop client, not a player in browser.
- Anonymous
  
  I refuse to install bloatware laden programs like iTunes. Last time I installed it back in 2007 it wanted to install about five other support programs and background services. I think it even tried to get me to install Safari. Seriously cannot stand iTunes.
- Wsnydes
  
  i’m kinda the same way. i use winamp as my desktop client. but i use itunes to manage my ipods. i hate itunes with a passion, but I have been unable to find anything that can manage my ipods better. and itunes does a horsesh*t job at that because it won’t import my winamp playlists.
- http://twitter.com/starnovsky Stan Tarnovsky
  
  I have exactly opposite reasoning and that’s why i don’t use iTunes or Spotify.
Kyle

I have 19,000 songs uploaded. Once I hit 20,000 I’m stuck. I think I might switch over to Amazon MP3. Google, Please make an option to upload more than 20,000 songs, even if it is fee based.
- http://www.twitter.com/nblufire12 Nathan Patel
  
  the funny thing is that you will only listen to like 100
Liuzerus87

I buy CDs.

/dinosaur
- Iam12whatisthis
  
  what are CDs?
  - Noyfb
    
    i still use the edison wax cylinders, so there
    - Terrance Steiner
      
      8-track baby!!!
  - http://twitter.com/starnovsky Stan Tarnovsky
    
    Something what you can hold in your hands and feel like you got your money worth.
    Something what you can legally borrow to your friend.
    Something what you can pop into every car.
- eskiar128
  
  =o
Obi5683

Pandora is my daily music source.
Bear831

Use iTunes for purchases then let iClould sync between my computers and finally have music upload it to the cloud. Works well considering everyone else in my family has an iPhone.
Rocketjrb

Downloads in iTunes, sync with Google music.
Anonymous

Day 1 of the release, I sold my musical soul to Google. If only they’d buy VZW,then my paycheck could go straight to Sunnyvale… after my wife took her cut.
Anonymous

The problem with Google’s music store is primarily selection. They don’t seem to have a lot of the big names that I’m looking for. I’m talking Top 40 stuff here, not some obscure artists. That’s a big issue.

The next issue is search problems. For a search engine company, Google Music search sucks. I know they have certain songs, but various covers of the song pop up before the official track. What the heck?

Also, the store interface isn’t nearly as neat and orderly as Amazon. They’ve got that down.

I try to buy whatever music I can from Google, as it’ll go right into my Google Music player which I use 100% of the time on my phone now. Uploading after downloading from Amazon is a pain, but it really boils down to price in a lot of instances. Google Music has been $.30 higher than Amazon for nearly 75% of my purchases. I’m none too happy about that.
Anonymous

I use the player, but not the music store. I buy my music directly from the bands or labels.
dutchmastaz

Who seriously buys music anymore?
- James Murphy
  
  People who like supporting artists and abiding by the law?
  - Rigor1980
    
    Many artists don’t care if you pirate their work. They want to to enjoy their music and go to their confers and buy t-shirts etc.
    - trumpet444
      
      wow, and that completely justifies it.
    - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503955513 Matt Zwirn
      
      Yeah im sure thats how they all feel, Where do you get you info from? have you polled a majority of artists and thats what they told you?
      - lostsync
        
        I can’t count how many shows I’ve been to where the frontman actively encouraged copying of their album. The bottom line is that a band stands to make more from gaining a fan than from selling an album.
        
        One of my favorite bands of all time was discovered via a CD-R of their (then) latest album, in 2002. Since, I’ve bought plenty of merch, gone to shows, and bought their CDs from the table in the back. Guess how many albums of theirs I’ve pirated before their tour made it through town? All of them. Yeah, they lost three or four dollars on their royalty checks due to that, but they’ve made a couple bills off of me from ticket sales, t-shirts, and CDs bought directly from the band. Not to mention the money they’ve made off of me giving mp3s and CD-Rs to my friends and creating more fans who have then done the same.
        
        Sharing recordings of music does not have to be a bad thing. If bands & labels accept that as a loss, like the CD is basically just advertising for the tickets and t-shirts, it makes complete business sense. I’ve never been charged for viewing an advertisement.
      - Anonymous
        
        It’s not advertisement. It’s art that artists put their blood, sweat and tears into. They invest their entire lives and make countless sacrifices to pursue making their art for your enjoyment and you do them all a massive disservice by not respecting them enough to purchase that art.
      - Anonymous
        
        I have been in numerous bands throughout the past 15 years, at least one of which that toured extensively through the U.S., has songs on compilations, and had offers from solid independent labels before we broke up due to unrelated family issues of a band member who we did not want to replace. As a band, we uploaded our albums and eps to IRC channels, torrent sites such as what.cd and waffles.fm, bandcamp.com where you could purchase it digitally for ZERO dollars if you chose to (or more, if you were inclined to do so), purevoolume where you could stream or download the entire thing, last.fm where again you could stream it all, and probably more places. We did this so that if somebody liked us who hadn’t heard of us before, hopefully they’d come see us on tour and support us through a means that actually helped fund us to not only get from one show to the next but also to create more music.
        
        My point is that it’s not black and white. This is what we chose to do and it worked for us. I have not bought a physical album in years and I probably never will again, unless it comes with a digital download as well. Then I would just give the cd away. Instead I pay to see shows, buy shirts, and if I’m lucky, buy the band a beer in person. there are ways to support artists other than giving 90% of their hard earned money to iTunes.
      - lostsync
        
        No, it isn’t. It’s a copy of the sound of art on a little plastic disc which is sold as a way to make men in suits money, not artists.
        
        I’m not saying people shouldn’t buy CDs. I’m just saying that there are other ways for artists to make money besides relying on 3% royalties, split 4 or 5 ways, which has to pay back a million+ dollar advance before they even see any of. Since people don’t really want to buy music anymore, because they have another option, it seems smart to adapt to what the public wants.
        
        Like mikesuds, I’m also a musician, and I’ve given all of my music away for free for over a decade. That doesn’t mean everyone has to that, but it does mean that one can’t make a blanket statement about “what artists want” and not be full of it.
      - Anonymous
        
        truth.
      - Anonymous
        
        I personally have a relative that works for Sony Records so i know a little about this touchy subject. First anyway band telling you to rip there music isn’t thinking to clearly about their revenue. Yes, its going to happen. But, people justifying like its some creative mumbo jumbo “the artists love it when we rip their latest CD and they get no money at all for that sale” is plain stupid.
        They’re losing money in a BIG WAY!!!
        times your $4 by the thousands and you’ll quickly see why the music entertainment is going after people like you. For stealing the hard earned money that these artists are delivering their music to paying fans..
        If it’s not worth it, then why would the music entertainment company and other music groups be so hard against these file sharing of music. Case in point Metallica, AC/DC and others have enacted the legislation for the music industry to go after the so called “free music”. Think about it, if you were some upcoming wonder hit band and tired of living from gig to gig and your cd’s were killing the charts but no money in your pocket I think you would have a different insight after you tally all o the revenu lost from people getting your music for free. I can see it being done as an initial market ploy for people to be interested in your band but not for the long all.
      - lostsync
        
        If your CDs are killing the charts, which are charts of sales, you’re doing fine.
      - Dliuzzo110
        
        Listen, record companies are going to make their money back first. Period. Its a business. If they don’t think the band will sell cd’s they’ll never put up money in the first place for you to go to shows. Fact is prating hurts every everyone.the music industry is jacked and yes its a very touchy subject in that at first yes its all about the music but at some point you have to earn a living and sellout. Can only play the starving artist for so long. So yes please buy CDs so labels will continue to put money up so bands can tour and eventually make money. Domino effect.
      - lostsync
        
        The labels aren’t even needed. They do nothing but act as an arbiter between recording, manufacturing, retail, and marketing. That is not needed. There is no reason to support them, unless you just love being spoonfed crap like Ke$ha. I don’t.
        
        If I pirate a CD, then in a few months go to a show, buy the CD and maybe even get it signed, why is that wrong? That’s what I and many, many other people do. The artist makes more money because they get to keep the retail markup as well as earn the royalty, and I got to see a performance that was more often than not worth what I went through to make it there and bring home a CD that I don’t even have to open and thus can let go of the anxiety associated with scratches and loss. It’s so win-win that any argument against this seems completely ridiculous.
        
        When I see logic like the above and some other opinions expressed on this thread, it makes me wonder if the RIAA has people out scouring the Internet for these types of discussions. The majors have been raping artists since their inception and that’s been fine for, what, 60 years? Because the result is that the public gets an endless stream of music, flashy concerts, and superstars. Piracy doesn’t directly enable this, so people come out of the woodwork when it’s brought up to suggest that it’s wrong, and you’re screwing the entire world over by being involved in it, which is borderline ridiculous.
        
        This point has been beaten to death and the truth of the matter here is that labels are going to adapt, or cease to exist, and they haven’t really shown a lot of willingness to adapt. Sometimes you have to accept less to hang on to anything at all, and if industries as large and powerful as the music industry were to put the effort they’ve spent on fighting change into embracing it, they’d probably have long since turned this whole Internet thing around to be in their favor, and single moms wouldn’t be getting 90,000$ judgements against them. There are plenty of ways to monetize something as pliable as music that don’t involve selling recordings of it and that would potentially be of greater benefit to the artists themselves. I’m not even saying that CDs shouldn’t be for sale – some people *like* to buy them – but I am saying that the labels need to look at the purpose of a CD in their bottom line differently unless they feel like chasing mp3s around the Internet forever, which is completely pointless. I think our collective experience with technology so far has pretty much proven that if it can be done, it will be, when it comes to media and software. That’s just the reality, despite it’s status as right or wrong, IP theft or informational liberty, it doesn’t matter. The sky is still blue and people will never stop downloading music for free.
        
        That’s all I have to say on this, especially since we’re all about to get turned into margin notes by DL’s WordPress theme.
    - Stuart E
      
      It’s true that many artists make minimal profits at best from any record sales (especially through iTunes). I once bought a cd from a touring band for $2.00 and they said they made more profit off that than they would selling through iTunes for $1.00 per song (5 songs). Most companies rip off the artists and that’s why they make way more from touring. I always try to buy merch when I go to shows. And to those that want to get self righteous when they see others that can’t always afford to buy new music, sorry I have enough left over to support the bands that truly deserve it.
      - Butters619
        
        Record labels want you to buy CDs. Artists want you to come to their shows. That’s how each of them make money.
  - Anonymous
    
    yep
  - http://twitter.com/starnovsky Stan Tarnovsky
    
    You know, there are subscription services, right?
    Where you not buying music, but still paying for it, supporting artists and it’s 100% legal. Oh, and it’s a lot cheaper too.
    - James Murphy
      
      I would count paying for a subscription service as buying music.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeff-Lamoureaux/1021776540 Jeff Lamoureaux
  
  I do. I don’t have a problem paying for my entertainment.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/ZLQ2NZASPR6IMJBZ2IH3QCVXBE Laurel
  
  my ŕoomate’s mother-in-law makes $70 an hour on the computer. She has been ḟired for 9 months but last month her check was $8143 ĵust working on the computer for a few hours. Gö to this web site and read more… LãzyCäsh5.çom
http://www.facebook.com/justin.schmiesing Justin Schmiesing

i would use google music. and i do use it if i have a song that spotify doesn’t.
Harryeballs1234

Usenet is my music provider……
http://twitter.com/teevirus T. Spinks

Not my main source that would be Suncoast/ FYE. /s But it is my main music player.
Anonymous

Yes. I just wish that Google Music store had more music available. It seems that they don’t have what I want.

In that case I’ll buy from Amazon. My Amazon Download directory is watched by the google music uploader so it goes right into my music cloud.
http://profile.yahoo.com/KREDJOYJ5FV3G6N47ZK7YAEJGQ Tom

my roomate’s sister makes $76 hourĺy on the laptop. She has been unemployed for 10 months but last month her paycheck was $7566 just working on the laptop for a few ĥours. Read more on this web site… ĿazyCash5.Com
http://twitter.com/kirilv Kiril

I use it as my main mobile music player, but not for buying music. They don’t have most of the music I like, so I am sticking to Bandcamp.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Micah-Madru/100001151887665 Micah Madru

I wish google would improve their music player. If I select to download an album to sd card, then flash a new rom. I have to redownload that album. Google Music is a pain for people that mod.
- http://twitter.com/PaulJWiss Paul Wiss
  
  My only gripe with Google Music is when you go to Artist>unknown album, it brings you to a list of every song in your library that doesn’t have album title info. I only want the songs from the artist I just chose.
  - A G
    
    Unfortunately you have to modify the album artist in order to fix this. It was a pain in the ass for me to modify all my album artists and I only have like 8,000 songs…
    - Isaac
      
      Try doing it for about 13,000 songs
      - David Geiger
        
        Try music bee. It is an automatic music organizer. It has done me well. my only problem with Google Music now is that it doesn’t update to changes made in the music folder. I’m a huge fan of the way subsonic looks at the library in real time.
  - Anonymous
    
    My Google Music takes about 20 seconds to go between songs if it changes songs at all. Maybe its because i’m still using 3G
    - http://twitter.com/Justinwrites Justin True Anderson
      
      Nope, I have seamless playback on 3g in the middle of Kansas.
- trumpet444
  
  especially when it registers your new rom as a completely new phone and you have to deactivate the old “phone”
- Anonymous
  
  google music should be the stock player on all android devices but also the native music app is one thing that android just cant seem to get right…whether people like it or not iOS has the best stock music player around….htc has the best music player of all the android OEMs IMO
  - Earl Echols
    
    I think it is stock for ICS
tanknspank

Well, Google Music is an option, but don’t mind my beatport either..
Joe

People keep giving me iTunes gift cards. I mostly listen to podcasts but when I need a audiobook someone has to use the iTunes gift card.

Google needs to sell gift cards in the places my in-laws shop at.
- trumpet444
  
  never thought of that but a 1,000x like
http://www.youtube.com/kimirPORTALS kimir

I like having the files on my phone, then use PowerAMP. Google Music -> iTunes -> WiFi File Explorer -> PowerAMP.
/audiophile
http://twitter.com/monolithnyc Monolith NYC

Mostly Rdio with a bit of Google Music
Anonymous

I’d use it more but my upload to both Google and Amazon has a ton of missing music. Not sure what happened, but I’m going to wipe and re-upload anyways with my iTunes cloud upgraded tracks
- trumpet444
  
  it won’t upload music that is drm protected, so some itunes purchases won’t go up
  - Anonymous
    
    Thanks, but that’s not it. I only had a few albums from the DRM days
Dean Rossano

Arrgh
Anonymous

I just get their free songs, and “other sources”
Andrew

I get upset when Google Music is lacking in certain artists and I’m forced to use Amazon. Let’s get it together Google.
Bradley Albert Nemitz

Spotify.
- https://plus.google.com/114483312559013915960/ Timoh
  
  same. and lately 8track
- El Big Chris
  
  I shell out $10 a month for it. Love it with 4G LTE
- Dejackamo69
  
  same
- Anonymous
  
  Artists make next to nothing from Spotify.
  - http://twitter.com/Transhawn Tran-Shawn Yu
    
    oh no…. I guess they’ll have to take first class instead of a private jet…. seriously, I dont think its going to put them on welfare…
    
    That said, I still purchase cd’s from artists I really like.
  - https://plus.google.com/114483312559013915960/ Timoh
    
    well, theyd make exactly nothing from me without it. Music isnt that important to me. id rather download podcasts and official mixtapes like i already do.
- Anonymous
  
  Best service ever, any playlist i want :3
Filip

I say it’s about 50% Google Music, 50% Spotify
- http://www.facebook.com/TJHRULZ tjhrulz
  
  For me its 49% google music 49% spotify 2%pandora (For finding more music getting playlists etc.)
  
  I even have the programs customized and hooked into ubuntu to start them up in an instant have system notifications minimize to tray skip by hotkey etc.

Tuesday Poll: Have you switched over to using Google Music as your primary music source?

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