It seems as if everyone is rushing to switch to streaming music, replacing owning the songs and albums with the idea of renting them instead. The concept has many advantages, including the ability to listen to pretty much any song at any time, providining we keep making that small monthly payment. Plus, the old need for those huge CD racks is a thing of the past.
There are also a number of free sources from which you can pull your tunes — YouTube is a surprisingly good location to find music, some of it quite obscure, and there is the oft-maligned Grooveshark, which soldiers on in the face of near-constant threats from the record industry. Spotify too, allows for a free account, though you must hand over the cash if you want unlimited ad-free or the ability to use it on a mobile device.
You get the point — there are a number of places to get music, and sometimes what one does not have a song another will. That is great in one sense of course, but it also means you could be wasting a bit of time searching around. A service called OnePlaylist aims to change this, by letting you pull from these different sources to create a jukebox of your very own.
Getting Started
Head over to the site, and you will what is a rather simple concept, but one that has the potential to save you a considerable amount of work.
Currently the service works with YouTube and Spotify (note the “powered by Spotify” logo at the page bottom), but more partnerships are planned for the future, including Rdio.
To get started you will need to enter in your email and choose a user name and password. Alternatively, you can use Facebook login, if you are so inclined. I went about it the old fashioned way and immediately received a message in my inbox with a link to confirm registration.
Now Let’s Get Grooving
The web app is empty at first and its time to get started adding some songs. You will discover a few basic settings within the left column to get you underway. Controls for music, once there, are located at the top of your list of songs.
A search for an artist resulted in results beginning to populate as I typed, much the way they do on Google. Continuing to punch in your query produces a constant refining of those results.
The results in this particular example contained, not only a number of single songs, but also a full-length concert as well. There are more pages, which you can view via the number buttons at the bottom. Click on the “Add” or “Play” button next to each of the results depending if you wish to listen now, or make it a part of a playlist you are creating.
By default your list is simply named “New Playlist”, but you easily alter this rather uninspiring title by using the Edit button. From there you can decide if would like it to be private or public, with for the former being the default. Public will allow others users to enjoy it, plus give you the option share it on Facebook and Twitter.
Once everything is set just the way you want it, you will find the “play” button at the top of the player, which appears to the right side of the screen and, naturally, it transforms itself into a pause button once your music begins. There are also skip forward and backward options for your tracks.
Songs can moved around and re-ordered within a playlist by the tried and trued drag-and-drop method, making for easy changes to any list for changing moods and tastes.
Settings are a tiny option at the bottom right, sandwiched between a Home page link and a sign-out option. Do not expect to get much or you will be sorely disappointed. The box that pops up simply displays your email address and an option to reset your password.
If you wish to import tracks from Spotify then there a few steps you will need to follow. Fist you will have to open the Spotify app on your computer and locate the track you wish to import — Ctrl+A or Apple+A. Now copy the URL for the song’s location and click the “Import” button to bring up a box to which you can post the copied link. Sadly, at this point in time, you will need to follow this procedure for each individual song. Remember, this is beta so some details are still being worked out and many features are planned, but yet to be added.
The Verdict
As I have pointed out, the service is still in beta and many features will be added, improving things as it moves forward. In fact, the developers just recently unveiled a new mobile app that allows for access to your playlists while on the go and also the ability to control a playlist on a computer remotely. A Chrome browser extension was also unveiled just this month which lets you control your music without leaving the tab you are currently working in.
While the service already boasts access to more than 540 million albums, it also plans to increase that number even more by expanding via more partnerships with different services, such as Grooveshark and Rdio. The interface and functionality are already very smooth and the idea behind the service is certainly a sound one. This is one to try out now and expect even more in the future.
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