Online Music Player Musing

Internet radio stations

Getting an online music player should be easy but there are many pitfalls, the most common of which is the legal constraints. When traveling in another country you might want to listen to your favorite home radio station and with the world wide web available then anything is possible, or is it? It appears logical but this is easier said than done. Quite often a message of this nature will appear:

"We are sorry that due licensing constraints you will not be able to access our service outside of ‘country of origin’. We believe that you are in ‘country’ (your IP address appears to be xxx.xx.xx.xxx). We are sad, no other alternative, we will continue in our efforts to get a global platform etc.".

The fact that you are from the country of origin and just want to hear the local news should not present any legal difficulties. Oh, what a complicated world we live in with all the legalistic nonsense. I shall stop ranting at this juncture as I am sure you have the gist of the matter.

Web player

It seems that when you add an online music player to a website or blog you are then tied to a range of music particular to the online player you downloaded. You must create a play-list from the archives of the player. The big media professionals like iTunes still lock you in to their core business even though Apple has a comprehensive range of music available.

Wireless headphones and online music players

Wireless headset adds mobility

Simply the best idea for listening to your online music is to use a pair of wireless headphones. There are many advantages for using them, including simple things like leaving the room to make a cup of coffee or even doing the washing up on occasion! I can move away up to 25 feet without any music loss or time lag. Unfortunately I cannot get as far as the washing line which I ‘accidentally’ placed some 30 feet from the property.

Online classical music player

The headphones can help you focus on the task at hand without distraction and also will allows other people (usually family members) in the vicinity to have some peace and quiet. They get a break from constant renditions of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or ‘the other classical rubbish your father constantly listens to’ or ‘Dad’s awful opera music’ or ‘that infernal noise’. Strange how they all gang up on me as I never complain about ‘The Simpsons’ or ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

Where do you find a good free music player online?

If you are not too good with programming then I recommend a Flash MP3 Player as it is easy to install. Many features are standardized and you should have little trouble with using it as programming skills are minimal. It is possible to embed the Flash MP3 Player into your website.

Dewplayer is another MP3 flash player which is free to use. It can be used commercially as well as privately, although it should not be sold on to anyone else. It has a nice design and different size options but can be cumbersome and complex.

Macromedia Flash players

MP3 Music Player

This MP3 Music Player has a capability to 25 MP3s one after the other in a loop. Manual control is available too but it can be automated easily too. It gets difficult if you wish to use it on a website and you need to be up to speed with HTML speak, so to speak. It has many features to blend it to your site including color matching to foreground and background.

No fuss online music players

An inobstrusive player is the Windows media sound player which is quite good unless you detest Windows altogether (as some people do). The best option, if you are prepared to buy your music is to download Apple's iTunes (unless you hate Apple). The advantage of Apple is that you ‘own’ what you download. Other music players online have a subscription program (which I detest) and you may run into difficulties playing music that you have paid for if your subscription lapses. Alternative online music options to consider are Jet Audio, Winamp and Pandora in that order.

Spotify online music player

The Swedish company Spotify operates in Europe and has links with Sony Music Entertainment. They expect to make a big impact when they enter the US market. Spotify is free and offers instant access to more than 10 million tracks when you download the Spotify music player.

FLAM Player online music player

FLAM Player means FLASH MP3 Player

More complex still is FLAM Player which is an MP3 player built in Flash. You can embed it in your HTML page. It has good editing features, is a fast platform but you will need to give it a bit of study to fully avail of its capabilities and it helps if you know something about databases (MySQL) and how they work.

Online music player quickly

Spool (spool.fm) was quick to start up and is labeled as an interactive web radio but this is just one example and there are several other radio stations online to choose from.

Fast online music player

If you want quick, instant access, no nonsense, no fuss, music online then go to ‘Grooveshark’. No download required (except Firefox, which even then is just one click) and you can listen to music, within seconds. If you have no interest in uploading / downloading songs you can just create a play list and save it online. I have found the Grooveshark online music player to be the best currently available for free.