The makers of Real Player have done it again, coming up with one of the only music on demand services in a digital music industry swarming with P2P file-sharing copycats and an ongoing array of file-sharing lawsuits with no apparent end in sight. By providing streaming audio to its users, there is no downloading involved and therefore no risk of being sued for copyright infringement. On the downside, it's hard to listen to the streaming audio on other devices besides Real Player, and you're not able to transfer music to a portable device (ie. handheld mp3 player). You can, however, burn CDs for an additional $0.79 per track. Think of this more like your own private internet radio station where you are the Deejay. RealRhapsody is the perfect option for people with little to no hard drive space to spare for music files.
Features
Instant access to over 900 thousand tracks with no downloading
Selection
Music on demand service with access to (but not ownership of) Real Rhapsody's complete database of about 1 million tracks
On the plus side - over 900 thousand tracks
On the minus side - you don't own any of these tracks, and as soon as you stop paying the monthly fee, you lose all of them
Constantly updated with the most current releases
69 radio stations
CD-quality - 128 Kbps
Price
14 day free trial! - need credit card to access
$9.95 per month
Pricey, no matter how you look at it
To make the most of a membership at Real Rhapsody, be sure you listen to music a lot (as in - all the time).
Burn CDs: Add $0.79 per song
Payment Types: Credit Card only!
Technical Support / Customer Service
Lost-in-the-machine style support that unfortunately often goes hand in hand with over-large conglomerates
Fortunately their FAQs are more extensive than most
Email support w/approx. 24 hour response time
Tutorials
Huge FAQ library
System Compatibility Windows only
Not available for Mac or Linux
Download Speed No downloads at all - streaming service
Takes time to buffer each track before playing - especially annoying to folks with slower internet connections
Refund/Cancellation Policy
None, but you're free to cancel at any time with no obligation
Must call to cancel, no electronic cancellation
