rdio VS Zune Pass- What works for me

It is no secret that music is a large part of my life. Listening to music helps me step away from the corporate hustle and bustle that I deal with on a daily basis. The music industry has changed significantly over the last decade. We have shifted from digital a model where we purchase our digital media from services like that of Amazon MP3 or Apple’s wildly successful iTunes Store to a now popular subscription based services like rdio and Zune Pass. Both have their benefits, depending on your needs either might work well in your use case. Over the last 14 days I have pushed both services to their limits looking for the golden ticket. Below are the results of my quest.

Zune Pass is a music service launched by Microsoft in 2008 which allows its users to stream and download unlimited music via their PC, Zune player, XBox, and now any Windows Phone 7 device. The music selection offered by Microsoft is impressive, offering almost all of the latest music for your listening pleasure. Unlike iTunes or Amazon MP3 you pay monthly (3 month and yearly options are available) to listen to music when and where you want. If you choose to cancel your Zune Pass membership your music is no longer available. To alleviate this pain Microsoft has added a “gotcha” to the service that makes things a bit easier to swallow. Each month you receive 10 credits to use for any 10 songs that you would like to call your own. There are no hidden terms and conditions, the 10 songs are yours forever, till death do you part. The longer you stay a member the larger your collection of music gets while still being able to download and stream as much as you want.

Now that we have all of the good details out of the way let’s move on to the things that you hoped didn’t exist. With each Zune Pass membership you are limited to three computers at a time. You have the ability to swap out one computer every thirty days so don’t go signing into your account on all of your friends computers or you will soon be very disappointed when you realize you have to wait 30 days to get the service back on your laptop.

Enough details, time to get into what I like about the service and what I don’t. For my trial I used two Windows Phone devices, the HTC Surround, and the HTC HD7. Both devices , running Windows Phone 7 , provide an identical experience.

Adding music from the Zune Pass Marketplace to your phone is done by downloading and installing the Zune software on your Windows computer. If you notice I didn’t say computer but Windows computer. Currently Zune software is not available for any other platforms including OS X. For me this is a major problem. If I want to fully utilize my Zune Pass I would need to load up Windows on my Macbook Pro , download the music, sync to the device. I hear you saying under your breath, “your just a lazy Windows hater”. Think what you may but I am neither. I like for things to be simple. This process wasn’t ideal for my use case. It should be noted that in my eyes the primary reason it isn’t available on OS X is the method Zune Pass uses to DRM the content.

With the Zune software loaded onto a PC finding music is easy and downloading it and syncing your devices is simple. The experience is unique, not great but easy enough for most people to use. The quality of the music is on par with what you would expect, I have no complaints there. Zune Pass will set you back $14.99 a month which is more expensive than the competition. The 10 songs that you are allowed to keep each month may be worth that extra cost to some, I will let you decide that for yourself.

Zune Pass is a great service but does has limitations if you are not a Windows user. It cost a bit more but you get something to call your own in return. This is the trade off you must think about when deciding if Zune Pass is the right fit for you.

Rdio launched in 2010 as a unlimited music service that allows you to stream and sync music to your mobile devices. Rdio provides music via their web application. Listening to music is easy, requiring no software installation. You may choose to browse music and play it on on the spot or build a collection and add songs or entire albums to a queue or playlist. The music selection is on par with Zune Pass and continues to get better. There is no limit on the amount of music you can add to your collections.

Rdio ,realizing that some might not want to build their entire music collection all over again, offered a smart solution that works rather well. This solution comes in the form of an Adobe Air client, marketing as a desktop client, which allows you to not only play music outside of your browser but sync your local ( digital MP3/AAC) collection with the online collection. The tool works very well as long as you have your collections tagged properly.

Collection built and ready to go you begin to listen to music while working, a phone call comes in, it is your boss and you need to travel to a client site to fix a problem. Being only halfway through the newest album, you think to yourself how much you would really love to finish it in the car on the ride to the airport. Have no fear sync to mobile is here. If you are one of the many iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry users you are in luck. Taking your music with you using rdio is as simple as finding the music you want and selecting the sync to mobile option from the website. The beauty of this is you don’t need a computer at all to sync your music. From the website choose what you want and on your phone load up the rdio application and find the sync to mobile option and watch as your music is updated on your phone.

Like Zune Pass the music is under a DRM and can only be played with the respectable clients so don’t get the idea that you can use the local music player to play the music. If this bothers you subscription services are not going to be an option for you. Having access to unlimited music has its limitations, DRM being the largest. Doesn’t bother me but for many it may be a turn off.

If having all of your music on your mobile isn’t your thing or you have limited space available on your phone from all of those “special” pictures you keep taking of your significant other then you will be happy to know that you can also stream all of your music from the rdio client over both wifi and 3G. I sync around 5% of my library and stream the rest in most cases. The best use case for syncing the music to your phone is when you know you will be in an area that doesn’t provide good data coverage or you don’t want chew through your data plan. Whatever works for you is your business but know this, it works and works well.

The quality of music streaming from rdio is outstanding and equal to what is being offered from Zune Pass. Rdio offers two options for monthly access. If you don’t see yourself needing mobile streaming or sync access you can get the $4.99 plan which offeres unlimited streaming from your browser or desktop client. Want your music on the go you will pay the premium of $9.99 a month to have this benefit. At the end of each month you won’t have anything to show for it other than that song you can’t seem to get out of your head while in the shower.

After spending quality time with each service I can say without a doubt I am sold on subscription based music services. I have discovered more music since starting these services than I have over the last year combined. It now comes down to what works for me and why.

Zune Pass Pros

• Excellent quality music
• Excellent selection of music
• 10 songs to call your own each month as a paid subscriber.
• Fantastic mobile integration through the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace

Zune Pass Cons

• Extremely Windows centric (requires windows PC to sync downloads)
• Cost more than competition $14.99 vs the average $7-10
• Extremely Windows centric (yes I said it again)
• Very few products with Zune Pass integration
• Zune software could be better
• Limited to 3 computers at a time ( can swap 1 computer every 30 days )

rdio Pros

• Excellent quality music
• Excellent selection of music
• Works with any computer with a web browser ( not limited to 3 computers )
• Simple solution to match your current
• No software needed to sync your mobile
• Great 3rd party support  ( Sonos, Roku)
• Works with any computer with a web browser ( yes I said it again )
• Social music done right

rdio Cons

• You never own any of the music you listen to ( purchase options are available)
• Some artist aren’t currently available ( selection is growing monthly as new deals are reached )
• Desktop client leaves a little to be desired
• Windows Phone 7 support is lousy
• Had to add another bullet to make it seem equal

It was clear to me which service provided the most value in my life. The clear winner for my use case was Rdio. Key decision factors for me were the support for Sonos, Roku and almost all major smartphone OS variants. Top that off with the excellent social features to help you discover new music and it was hands down the king of the hill for me. Both provided quality products but rdio just worked best for me. This might not be the case for you. If you love music I advise you to try out both and see what works best for you. Let me know how things go for you. Most important enjoy the music, if the service gets in the way of that what is the point.

Questions and comments are always welcome.