I’ve been a music-is-a-service-not-a-product evangelist for almost a decade now, so most of my friends and a lot of reporters (some people fall into both groups) are accustomed to hearing me go on and on about why I think Rhapsody’s so great.
They don’t hear me talk about its problems as frequently, but there’s one big issue with subscription services that frustrates me every bit as much as it does our customers: sometimes, a track that was in the service on Monday disappears on Tuesday. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s incredibly disturbing when it does, so I want to explain to our customers why it sometimes occurs, and what we do about it.
As of this morning, the Rhapsody catalog includes 8,669,469 tracks (we add another couple thousand most every day). In order to make each one of those available to you on-demand, we need permission from two entities: whoever controls the sound recording copyright (usually a record label), and whoever controls the composition copyright (usually a publishing company).
When a track comes down, it’s usually by request of a label or publisher. Sometimes, it’s simply because a label is still thinking only in terms of retail sales -- they’ve retired a particular version of an album (what they call a SKU) and replaced it with a new one, possibly because it’s remastered or has bonus tracks. In a store, this is no big deal, but in a subscription service it can mean tracks you’ve added to your library or put in a playlist cease functioning. Instances like these are annoying, but pretty straightforward to fix.
It’s more complicated when two different labels or two different publishers claim ownership of a track, and we have to pull the track down while they resolve it. Or when an artist from label A is a guest vocalist on a track licensed to us from label B. Or when tracks come down while artist and label argue over what the latter owes the former (legally, we have to pay the copyright owner; how the copyright owner shares that payment with the performer varies based on whatever contract the artist has with its label). On the publishing side, one composer may want her song in our service, while her co-writer disagrees. It’s all exacerbated by the fact that copyrights often change hands -- an old owner may have granted us a license to material, but if ownership changes hands we have to pull it down until we can get that same license from the new owner. And every once in awhile someone just makes a mistake -- they feed us a track flagged “Yes” for on-demand streaming, when it was supposed to be “No.”
Anytime we get a takedown notice, we work overtime to get the material live again as soon as humanly possible -- we have label relations managers, publishing experts, lots of lawyers and your humble editorial staff all tracking lists of affected content and working the phones to get it back. We also do everything we can to prevent takedowns before they happen; if we know a particular catalog is changing hands, we work with both parties to try to ensure that the tracks can stay live during the transition. And we’re always working with labels and publishers to find a more permanent solution, so we don’t have to deal with these problems one by one.
None of which makes you feel any better when you push Play on a track you were enjoying the other day, and you get a “not available” message. So if that ever happens to you, please know that we’re working on it. And take consolation from the fact that there are 8,669,468 other tracks to listen to in the meantime.
When a track comes down, it’s usually by request of a label or publisher. Sometimes, it’s simply because a label is still thinking only in terms of retail sales -- they’ve retired a particular version of an album (what they call a SKU) and replaced it with a new one, possibly because it’s remastered or has bonus tracks. In a store, this is no big deal, but in a subscription service it can mean tracks you’ve added to your library or put in a playlist cease functioning. Instances like these are annoying, but pretty straightforward to fix.
It’s more complicated when two different labels or two different publishers claim ownership of a track, and we have to pull the track down while they resolve it. Or when an artist from label A is a guest vocalist on a track licensed to us from label B. Or when tracks come down while artist and label argue over what the latter owes the former (legally, we have to pay the copyright owner; how the copyright owner shares that payment with the performer varies based on whatever contract the artist has with its label). On the publishing side, one composer may want her song in our service, while her co-writer disagrees. It’s all exacerbated by the fact that copyrights often change hands -- an old owner may have granted us a license to material, but if ownership changes hands we have to pull it down until we can get that same license from the new owner. And every once in awhile someone just makes a mistake -- they feed us a track flagged “Yes” for on-demand streaming, when it was supposed to be “No.”
Anytime we get a takedown notice, we work overtime to get the material live again as soon as humanly possible -- we have label relations managers, publishing experts, lots of lawyers and your humble editorial staff all tracking lists of affected content and working the phones to get it back. We also do everything we can to prevent takedowns before they happen; if we know a particular catalog is changing hands, we work with both parties to try to ensure that the tracks can stay live during the transition. And we’re always working with labels and publishers to find a more permanent solution, so we don’t have to deal with these problems one by one.
None of which makes you feel any better when you push Play on a track you were enjoying the other day, and you get a “not available” message. So if that ever happens to you, please know that we’re working on it. And take consolation from the fact that there are 8,669,468 other tracks to listen to in the meantime.
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Portions of album content provided by All Music Guide © 2011 All Media Guide, LLC ® 1999-2011 Rhapsody International Inc.
Why doesn't Rhapsody have any type of customer news or updates as part of the user interface? It's one thing when certain tracks or albums go away, but when an artist the magnitude of Springsteen is removed -- for whatever reason -- a few words of explanation would show concern for customers. I am a huge fan and long time user of Rhapsody. It just puzzles me why the company doesn't do more to keeps its customers informed.
I agree with Ted. There should be some way to know what is going on before your entire library just becomes a collection of grayed-out song names with no way to play them short of buying the album, which makes Rhapsody (and the monthly fee) totally unnecessary. At least half of my library is no longer available and the songs that remain are mostly classical Mozart tracks. I do enjoy them, but do not feel that they are worth the monthly charge. If there is no change, I will be canceling my subscription. If I have to buy the music I want, I might as well do it someplace I am not charged a monthly fee for the privilege.
If you notice, it's always the SAME artists coming down and going back up and coming down again. The Eagles are notorious for this, up and down several times a few years ago until they just came down for good. Zappa, ARS, etc. I understand the explanation, but this still seems to be an eventual deal-killer for subscription-based music. I, too, have been a Rhapsody subscriber since the beginning (my client is Audiogalaxy, for crying out loud), but I'm paying $15.99/month for access, not access when Rhapsody manages to give me access. Add in the hair-pulling frustration of a buggy client and on-again, off-again mobile device nightmares, and it adds up to a lot less than what I'm paying for.
I'm in agreement. Springsteen gone. Jackson Browne gone. And not a word about it. C'mon Rhapsody. It's called customer service.
I feel the same way as all of you do, but in Rhapsody's defense, there are just some times that they have absolutely no say in these matters, since they do happen to be very legalistic. I would, however, be overly joyed if I were to find that Rhapsody was coming out with an update that would alert you to this a few days prior, or at least give an explanation as to why certain songs were "greyed out", so that users don't go through some rigamaro trying to figure out why their songs won't play. I honestly thought that something was wrong with my computer or program, so I reinstalled it. Now I find the truth. Rhapsody, please help out your faithful customers. We love you lots for your simplicity, but we'd love you even more if you would listen to us.
Thanks very much for these responses. Your honest and direct feedback helps us demonstrate to labels, publishers and artists what kind of impact their decisions have on customers who are paying a premium to have unlimited access to their catalogs.
In response to the suggestions concerning an alert or update system, we have considered implementing something along these lines; unfortunately, such notifications could exacerbate any potentially legally sensitive issue among interested parties. Though you might not see explicit notices of catalog changes, trust that we are working feverishly behind the scenes with relevant labels, publishers and artists to resolve whatever issue has led to content removal, even though the dispute is typically between two of those three parties, rather than between one of them and Rhapsody.
We understand this is a major issue with customers, and our goal remains to ensure that 100% of the library is accessible to our subscribers at all times. We are confident that we’re far ahead of any other legal service in this regard, and strive to improve what we have to offer every single day.
Totally agree. With Springsteen, I thought there should of at least been a note at the Springsteen artist page saying "because of recent changes with this artist's licensing rights, some or all of the tracks of this artist, which were previously available, may no longer by available except for purchase." Without this kind of information, I'm thinking something is up with my computer or the client. I spent about 45 minutes with customer service (a nice fellow who, from what I could gather, had never heard of Bruce Springsteen). The same thing happened with Neil Diamond the very next day. There does appear to be a recent increase in the number of artists who are no longer allowing the streaming/downloading-to-go rights to their work, which is not a good thing.
The labels should appreciate the fact that we are at least paying for a membership and not illegally downloading. It is certainly not hard to do it the illegal way, however I do feel morally obligated to do it the proper way, plus i feel that the artists should get compensation for thier hard work..Most of my songs that were removed are so old that I really dont see the point of removing them. Pink floyd, nine inch nails, even Ol dirty bastard (rip),, lol
I've been a rhapsody subscriber for over two years and came across this article while trying to find out why Jimmy Buffett, Jackson Browne, and Bruce Springsteen tracks had stopped working. In several of these cases, I already own the CDs of the songs, but don't want to have to go through the hassle of ripping all 500+ cds, especially since the recent trend has been releasing CDs with only 1-2 tracks I like (and it would take even more time to hand select which songs to download on each CD). Losing access to the songs via Rhapsody doesn't increase the likelihood that I will buy them on CD or even as individual tracks - it just annoys me and creates a disconnect with the artists (even if they aren't the ones who make the decisions).
I've been a Rhapsody subscriber for at least 3 years and have seen the service getting worse and worse!
I am so frustrated with the lack of service that as soon as I find an alternate to Rhapsody I'm going the give that service my business!
I am SO tired of losing the tracks to Jimmy Buffett, Eagles, Frank Zappa, ect, ect.
Finally, The customer service reps send you a cut and paste answer and then log that the complaint was resoved?
Can't wait for a new option or service!!
Bob
My tracks keep disappearing!!! I'm really getting sick of Rhapsody charging me the same fee for less music. Even lesser known artists disappear.
I loved Rhapsody and have been a paying customer for a couple years. But now I'm going back to illegal downloading when an artist disappears. Screw this. I pay for a service that gives me music one month and not the next. If you take away good artists and just leave us with the ones no one listens to, decrease the monthly fee. I'm also going to see what Napster's library looks like. It's 1/3 the price and the service can't be much worse than Crapsody.
I have been eagerly waiting for and posting about the upcoming beta app for android phones. The eagerly part waned drastically after logging on today to find an excessive amount of newly unavailable artists, whole albums and isolated tracks. I echo the sentiments posted here. In the two plus years I have subscribed I have never seen my library take this much of a hit. Any media service that cannot maintain this basic inherent feature is no longer a viable service and no longer deserving of my $180 a year. I am not giving up yet but I do have one foot out the door.
It pisses me off to no end when tracks that I've been listening to for years just up and disappear. Jimmy Buffett is my favorite artist and now most of his music is unavailable. I used to recommend Rhapsody to my music loving friends. That will end.
I love Rhapsody. But too many artists are going off the service. Losing Springsteen may be the last straw. Some of my recent playlists have lost about 30 to 50% of their tracks. Some tracks and artists have just utterly disappeared. In this case, the service is no longer worth what it was some months ago. I may be better off just cutting of Rhapsody and buying DRM-free MP3s from Amazon, or (gasp) buying CDs on line or at a "music" store. I agree with Michael: I could take the $180 I spend on Rhapsody and just buy CDs. I hate to do this--I bought Rhapsody-to-go compatible players for a reason--but it's really a problem when canonical works of popular music, rock, etc., disappear without warning.
At least half of my Rhapsody To Go music is no longer available. I'm canceling my subscription. I can "stream" music to my PC for FREE from many, many other sources. The whole point of paying the monthly fee was to be able to transfer them to my MP3 player. I am very disappointed - I LOVED the service when I first subscribed. Now, I'm going to have to find my MP3's elsewhere.
The shocking thing is that Rhapsody customer support is oblivious to the problem. If you query them, they tell you how to find the tracks even though following the instructions to the letter results in nothing.
I wonder if it's the streaming contract wars. Does I-pod have these problems? Is it Gates (IBM, Rhapsody)against Apple(Ipod) musician contracts?
Just my two cents worth.
But, agree when "America", "B-52's", "Eric Clapton", plus, plus, plus are disapearing without an understanding of returning, when or even if, it is a big impact to my core music set.
Next thing it'll be Christmas Carols only. Just like the way on-line access to song sheets has gone.
The system seems to me to still be pushing for me to go to the store and pay a supreme mark-up for any musical item: CD track, sheet music, etc. (doubt the artist gets 2%)
Does the service fee we pay cover the "desired" profits these big whigs are demanding? Is this the problem? I look at the rape of the artists from the producers and see it as take, take, take.. Nothing's changed.
I don't think we'll see the return of the songs until the producers get the maximum profits they can get deal (steal)
Just a sceptic
Bill
I am absolutely disgusted with Rhapsody. EVERY DAY for the past month, tracks have disappeared. I will most likely non-renew my subscription after this month.
Thanks again for continuing to offer feedback. As outlined above, we make our best efforts to ensure there are no gaps in our catalog, though, as your comments attest, it does happen. Massive numbers of tracks should not be disappearing, however.
One way you can help us in our efforts would be to list out some or even all of the missing tracks you're encountering in this forum. Then we can investigate what happened and try to get them back up.
I totally agree... I've lost B52s, Dreamgirls, High School Musical, J Sean, etc. I've evangelized Rhapsody to soo many friends and have paid that monthly fee for over two years. Not any more. Work out the difficulties. THEN, i'll come back. Not until then.
Off the top of my head:
Moby - Play
half of American Idiot - Green Day
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl SOUNDTRACK
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest SOUNDTRACK
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End SOUNDTRACK
The last track of The Dark Knight Soundtrack
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Stephen and Elan, many of the albums you mention remain available in Rhapsody. It's possible that versions you added to your libraries were removed and replaced with new versions by the label -- we are working on a way to make such changes seamless to users, but for now, the B-52s, Moby, andd others are all live and complete.
All of Play, for instance, is included on this deluxe edition:
http://www.rhapsody.com/moby/play-play-the-b-sides
I will look into the soundtracks and those two missing Green Day songs right away.
Good news: turns out these comments have helped us uncover a couple different bugs. Green Day was missing selected tracks that can't be sold individually, but the download rights aren't supposed to affect on demand availability. Those tracks (and many others from Warner artists) should be coming back on tomorrow.
A different issue was affecting soundtracks, but most of those should be returning shortly, as well.
Please keep the examples of affected tracks coming.
Hi Tim et al--I really wish your legal dept would rethink the notification issue. It's horrible horrible user experience to have them just disappear. And then you're forcing the customer to have to search just in case the track has been reissued and needs to be manually replaced.
I get the whole fluctuating rights issue, I do. But your way of handling just doubles the frustration. For example, it took me a while to realize it was just a case of a reissued track--I just happened to be looking at new albums for an artist and saw the tracks I thought I'd lost (months later however). Btw, I sure hope there's a dev project on having these tracks automatically get replaced, or a streamlined process for doing it.
Thanks.
Congrats on getting spun off from Real!
Hi Sella.
We are indeed working on ways to connect duplicate versions of tracks that ARE licensed with any suddenly unlicensed versions of same that are populating customers libraries, playlists, etc. Our ultimate goal is for these issues to be completely invisible to our customers.
My son has Asperger's, and if you know anything about that disorder, you know they crave routine. Every night for the last two plus years I have streamed Choo Choo Soul (Genevieve Goings) over Sonos into his bedroom since he is obsessed with trains.
Then one day I got a message saying the songs could not be played. I rebooted the Sonos -- nothing. Finally I searched rhapsody online and discovered the tracks were just not there anymore.
To put it mildly, my son blew a gasket. It took us an hour to get him calmed down.
Thanks Rhapsody!!
I believe you should be as generous with praise as you are with criticism, so I just want to publicly thank Tim for looking into my issue. Choo Choo Soul is back up, and my son is very excited.
Thanks again!
This is the most impressive display of actual customer service I have ever seen from Rhapsody. Tim, I don't know who you are or what you do for Rhapsody, but it's very gratifying to know there are actual people at Rhapsody who are thinking about the fans of your service. I still think all the tips and information you are sharing here could be shared right up front on the user interface. Why hide it in these blogs? Lastly, I want to encourage my fellow Rhapsody fans to hang in there. I've looked and there is nothing remotely as good when it comes to a subscription based service. My biggest fear is that the Apple pay-per-track model will be the winning product in the market. Oh, and Tim, if you weren't aware every Springsteen track is unavailable as far as I can tell.
Tim, I too want to thank you for the customer service. I am very surprised to see anything like this. You wanted to know about missing tracks. I have looked through all of the Jimmy Buffett tracks, and most tracks from all of the albums are unavailable. The only exception is the newest album.
Thanks again
Lou Reed - New York.
gone: most zappa, 4 non-blondes, sprinsteen - everyday seemingly someting else when I look for it in MyRhapsody...
Rush - In Rio
Paul Weller - Studio 150
Aerosmith
3 Method of Destruction albums are gone USA for M.O.D,
Gross Misconduct and Loved by Thousands but Rhythm of Fear is still up. If I check the all albums tab I can see them but can no longer access them. I agree a simple explanation would be nice. Something like so and so no longer wishes to participate...or any info would be nice. I just bought my player 2 weeks ago,I hope I didn't buy it just in time for Rhapsody's nosedive or to only be able to download public domain songs like Camptown Races and whatnot.
BTW had they not had these albums in the first place I would have prob just been like hmm dont have that no biggie. But when they have it one week but not the next and they still have one album but three that were there are gone its kind of baffling.
Most of Rancid's albums used to be on there, but now only Indestructible is. There are 31 albums showing up, but 29 of them are compilations or soundtracks with only one Rancid song (the other one is a single). I know most of their actual albums used to be up, so can you look into where they went?
I have been rhapsody user and advocate for years. But the Springsteen debacle might turn a deal breaker pushing me to leave. Can some one give a STRAIGHT answer, what EXACTLY happened to BOSS's catalog? Is it going to be restored anytime soon?
Thanks much... still not leaving but weighing my options...
The content is not available because despite best efforts, Rhapsody has not yet been able to obtain a license from Mr. Springsteen's publisher to distribute his compositions via Rhapsody.
We continue to work on the issue, and hope to resolve it very soon.
I too am a long-time Rhapsody user (over Sonos). But there seems to be something going on beyond the explanations above. In the last year or so, the frequency and breadth of titles no longer available has accelerated and grown. Too many titles really to count. Virtually every playlist I have has some titles no longer available across a wide range of genres and artists.
Is this a matter of Rhapsody being inable to pay $$s or get enough mindshare to get agreements?
It cannot be just a matter of new issues (compilations, etc.) replacing original albums. . . that just doesn't wash.
Feels like a death-spiral: Rhapsody can't finance the former library due to declining subscriptions which leads to more subscriber cancelations, etc.
A transparent explanation and customer-oriented strategy might save the subscriptions of loyal customers like me.
Bryn, I promise there's no death spiral. We add 35,000 or more new tracks every week, and are coming up on 10 million songs in the catalog. This entire thread is my best effort to be transparent. 98% of the tracks that go dark reappear on a different label or under a different UPC within a day or two -- it's frustrating, but it's a technical issue, not a financial one, and we're looking for the best solution.
When a multi-platinum artist is unavailable for an extended time, it's often a publishing rights issue, and unfortunately those can take some time to obtain.
Another longtime Rhapsody user and frustrated Springsteen fan adding my vote/voice to the "Get Bruce Back ASAP!" bandwagon...
The best way to fight back against the greed of the label or the performer is to continue to spread the word about how this artist is working and to never support a concert, purchase any items, or anything that might possibly benefit those involved in the future. This is the only way that we can fight back financially. Once they begin to see the negative effect of a degrading public opinion they will change. Jimmy Buffett and Springsteen are as greedy as they come, don't let them fool you...
Tim - "Only a Broken Heart" from Tom Petty's "Wildflowers" album used to be available, but now only plays the 30-second excerpt...even though it's still marked as being fully available -- as is the rest of the album, which plays fine. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Also, Van Morrison's "Common One" album. Why would only one of many of an artist's albums be "for sale only?"
U2 - how to dismantle an atomic bomb album is missing, discotec from the pop album is missing.
Tim - you still checking these posts? Any updates on the listed songs / albums that have been posted?
Thanks
JE
Anything called out on this thread gets investigated pronto -- sorry I can't reply to each and every one, but here's a summary of the last several we've looked into:
Method of Destruction albums should all be live under artist M.O.D.: http://www.rhapsody.com/mod
4 Non Blondes is live: http://www.rhapsody.com/4-non-blondes/bigger-better-faster-more
Tom Petty tune streaming in its entirety: http://www.rhapsody.com/tom-petty/wildflowers
Unclear why the streaming rights were turned off for those U2 and Lou Reed titles, but it happened on the label side, and the labels in question are redelivering, so they should be back on soon.
Rush in Rio is back, though incomplete. Looking into what's up with the missing tracks.
Label says the Van Morrison title "is not cleared for streaming at this time." We will keep pressing.
Rancid is a publishing issue; we are following up with the publisher.
If the Aerosmith title in question was Big Ones, it's live: http://www.rhapsody.com/aerosmith/big-ones. Their early catalog has never been available on demand, to the best of my knowledge. If a different album or albums are at issue, please let me know.
The Zappa catalog has been tied up in litigation between different labels. We are inquiring with the family to see what the latest status is.
Still waiting for an answer from label about the Paul Weller title. We're calling them back today...
you mention b-52s as resolved, but i see four great tunes off cosmic thing that are not available, maybe you can double-check.
'assuming beatles, ac/dc, van morrison catalog, etc. (so many tunes, you must need an assistant) is just not going to happen in my lifetime, load your cds folks.
man, what a lot of stuff to consider. you, Tim Quirk, are tenacious and in-it-to-win-it and we owe you at least a case of your favorite micro-brew. send me the bill. thanks for your help.
Thanks for these, Keith.
The label is fixing the B-52's error, so those tracks should be on shortly.
Label informs us that they do not have streaming rights to the Brian Eno album.
Springsteen missing is very disappointing. I have been a very long time subscriber to Rhapsody. Unfortunately this will be a deal breaker. I will wait one more month and hope for results. I can deal with some albums not being available but not all =(.
grayed playlists albums:
Sissel "Northern Lights"
Travis all but a few from the "Invisible Band"
Josh Groban is spotty
Alan Hovhaness (the composer) just plain
disappeared
I've been a subscriber since 2004 and the eroding of my music collection is disturbing.
Thanks for looking into this.
Dave, I believe all of the artists/albums you list should be live:
Sissel, all of Northern Lights tracks are available (I think this one switched from one label to another): http://www.rhapsody.com/sissel-2/northern-lights--denon-records
Travis, all of The Invisible Band is live: http://www.rhapsody.com/travis/the-invisible-band--2001-epic-independiente
Josh Groban, I think every track is available: http://www.rhapsody.com/josh-groban
Alan Hovhaness has 14 albums available:
http://www.rhapsody.com/alan-hovhaness
If tracks from the artists/albums above are grayed out in your playlists, it's likely because the switch from one label to another required us to replace an old version of an album with a new one. Whenever we can, we try to keep the old audio files live so it doesn't impact customers' playlists, but we're not yet batting 1000 on that score.
Wow!
Timely response with answers I like. Stupid question department. How do I reactivate these artists in my existing playlists. The hooks work here in this blog but I can't figure out how to get the links into my basic Rhapsody start page
Dave
Dave, if you're using the PC client software, then the best way to get these back in your collection is to go to each artist's page and add the live albums to your library. You'll need to delete the grayed out tracks from any playlists where they appear, and replace them with the working versions. We're working on a way to do the swapping on our end, but for now, that's the best way to make sure you've got the tracks you want in the order you want.
I, for one, feel I get my subscription's worth of music convenience with Rhapsody, so far.
The only thing that irks me is the music industry and their inability to figure out a sensible method of determining rights and ownership. I, frankly, don't care to see the mess behind the "Employees Only" wall, I want the product. They need to let the music stay while they settle their uninteresting squabbles in private. Rhapsody sends a check to the people they made a deal with until the next bill comes from someone else, then send it to them. They can settle the money somewhere else where we can't notice them. I can't think of a worse way for entertainment "owners" to sour their fans, yet it happens continually.
Back to Rhapsody, I use it to play music that I already own on vinyl, tape and even CDs but don't have a way to play them, or don't feel like looking for the CDs. Also, it is an enormous convenience signing into my account from anywhere and have all my music organized and handy. So, I will continue my subscription, and for now, I will forget the artists who have snobby reps. They ain't all that... and cover bands are really pretty good anyway. Ha!
I second the "Wow!" from Dave above. I have been a subscriber since 2002. I have never read anyone from Rhapsody be so candid about specific licensing issues. Thank you, Tim!
I was under the misapprehension Zappa was unavailable because it was just Gail Zappa being greedy, and wanting to sell Zappa CD's only from the ZFT website. Sorry Gail! You cleared that up for me.
Four requests/comments: First, some of Loreena Mckennitt's catalogue was available for streaming for years, and for a short while, all of it, but now it's been gone for a while, perhaps a couple of years. What's the outlook for getting her catalogue back?
Second, I noticed over the years that albums from a particular artist will have onetrack-itis -- just one one track from each of several albums is unavailable for streaming. Joni Mitchell's older catalogue recently came down with this disease. What's the reason for this one? Is it a marketing ploy by the labels to get the subscriber to buy the missing track or the entire album?
Third and Fourth: Jewel's 0304 and Joan Osborne's Relish recently changed from live to for sale only. What's the prognosis on getting those live again?
Thanks.
Greg
Checking on Loreena and Joni.
Labels in question tell us the Joan Osbourne change is correct (sorry; they're not offering her on demand), but the Jewel is a mistake. They will be redelivering the Jewel titles with corrected rights.
Tim,
Can you please report any progress and/or prognosis on the Springsteen front? As others have indicated, this is a biggie.
Meanwhile, please do keep pressing on Van Morrison's "Common One" -- a great and underappreciated album.
Finally, want to echo others' thanks to you for your efforts and responsiveness...
Thank you, Tim.
Tim,
My husband and I have been subscribers for about three years, and we are extremely disappointed to see how music we want has begun to disappear - or indie artists that we are interested in never arrive. For albums that you used to have that you don't any longer -
Firewater - The Golden Hour
Tracy Thorn - Out of the Woods
We are seriously considering moving to Napster. Has anyone else looked into that? The Golden Hour is available on Napster, but Tracy Thorn is not.
Losing the entire Nine Inch Nails collection was big hit to my library. I have physical copies of all the albums, but manually converting and managing all of those mp3s is huge pain. I've also always wondered why Rhapsody doesn't carry the latest 2 albums, Ghosts and The Slip, which are free to download from the NiN website. Not that it's a big deal, again, just a matter of convenience.
Ok - now Josh Ritter's new cd, So Runs the World Away, is not available. Neither is "Heaven is Whenever" by The Hold Steady, the Court House Hounds cd, and the New Pornographers' Together.
What is going on here? What is the point of paying for a subscription if I cannot listen to the music I want to hear?
Maureen, sorry for the inconvenience, but new releases are delayed a couple of days this week, as we complete a major database upgrade. We'd hoped to have that process complete in time to have all new releases live as scheduled on Tuesday; unfortunately some new releases (the Hold Steady among them, which depresses me, as I'm a big fan) may take until Friday to go live.
I just found this link while also looking for the new Josh Ritter CD. It's a great thread and I really thank Tim, the author. However, I think a major idea that was given short shrift was a notification service for Rhapsody. This could be as simple as an RSS feed that tracks the artists and songs in my library or a list of artists I designate so that I know when changes occur. Notification of when songs in my library are going away and when artists I track have new albums would be a HUGE bonus and easy to implement. Lastly, regarding the comment that you can't post about songs going down due to legal issues, you don't need to tell us why it's going down or who asked to take it down. Just let us know and if you want say whether it's your fault or someone else's.
thanks.
The takedowns are becoming more frequent in the last year or so and this is seriously degrading the service. I barely have any playlists intact anymore. I can no longer recommend Rhapsody to my friends due to this, which I used to to all the time. If this keeps up, I will have to switch to itunes or Amazon.
i'm happy to be streaming rush - in rio finally, almost got tired of checking on it. one little victory, right? however, b-52's cosmic thing is still spotty with 30-second cuts scattered throughout. lou reed - new york still gone. now grant lee buffalo - gems from the vault, gone. also keith richards - talk is cheap disappeared a long time ago. man, this is a pain in the arse - i feel like we're all doing rhapsody's job for them. anyway, do what you can please.
The rerelease of the Stones Exile on Main Street is not showing up - even when I click show all :(
Tim, have you left us?
Still here, Greg. Hoping to have positive Springsteen news soon, and we investigate anything that's reported here even when I can't comment on them all one by one.
That said, most of the new release issues referenced above should be solved.
Tracy Thorn album is available:
http://www.rhapsody.com/tracey-thorn/out-of-the-woods
Checking with Nan at Bloodshot to see what happened to the Firewater record -- that may just be a mistake.
On Cosmic Thing, the label has withheld streaming rights to the 4 singles from that album.
Nine Inch Nails is a publisher issue -- we're working on it.
In addition to working on individual titles, we continue to work on more global solutions. That's more likely to come in the form of better explanations on artist and album pages about why particular songs aren't available than as a title-by-title notification system, but please keep the ideas coming.
Thanks, Tim.
FYI, there is one Springsteen album available for streaming, his first: "Greetings from Asbury Park." It's a good one!
On April 26, 2010, you mentioned Jewel albums would be redistributed with corrected rights. The desired "0304" is still not streamable at this time.
FYI, "Relish" by Joan Osborne has recently become streamable, minus a few tracks, even though you verified that it was not. So maybe your investigation prompted someone with rights to change his or her mind. Thanks!
Any word on Joni or Loreena Mckennitt?
Lastly, at least since I discovered it last week, it appears the best kept secret on Rhapsody is the availability for streaming of three of Led Zeppelin's earlier albums, I, II, and IV, the last of which includes "Stairway to Heaven." Even on LZ's artist page the top tracks for the most part are 30 second samples. Perhaps Rhapsody subscribers who visit the LZ page don't scroll down to see the albums because the albums that are visible w/o scrolling are listed as "for sale only," and thus, reasonably, subscribers see no reason to scroll down. Anyway, thanks for these albums!
And thanks for handling the requests and providing info on this page!
Greg
Hey, what gives? I mention here a few days ago that some Led Zeppelin albums are available for streaming. When I went to play Led Zeppelin today, I discover the albums are gone! Huh? Some streaming rights holder changed his, her or their minds in a hurry, unless somebody goofed by making them available for streaming in the first place when it wasn't permitted. Do us a favor, when you are granted streaming rights, lock it in for a period of time longer than, say, two weeks. I hate surprises. Well, thanks for the two weeks!
Greg
These albums (that I listen to regularly) have all been removed:
Moby - Last Night
Fatboy Slim - Better living through chemistry
Chemical Brothers - Come With Us
Underworld - Beaucoup Fish
Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman
Underworld - A hundred Days off
Underworld - Pearl's Girl
Underworld - 1992-2002
Is there any easy way to check what is available with a zune pass?
WoW!
After reading these comments, one would think that not being able to access Springsteen's catalog was an end of the world type situation.
One thread that seems to stick out in the comments is the type of artists leaving Rhapsody. With only a couple of exceptions,they are all mainstream hugely sucessful recording artists. I don' come to Rhapsody to listen to that type of stuff. I've heard enough Springsteen, Petty, Buffet, Groban, B-52's, etc. to last me a lifetime.
Perhaps Rhapsody subscribers would do well to broaden their horizons a little bit. Like the man said, "...there are 8,669,468 other tracks to listen to..."
--A Highly Satisfied Customer
When I am reading something that says "Free trial for 14 days, don't pay per song" and I get charged for purchased songs and I am charged the membership fee right away and then charged per song, I find that to be fraudulent. Don't be fooled b any music sit that advertised this, they all charge your chard right away andthen add charges for other things not stated. Use Limewire! ABSOLUTELY FREE and they don't ask for your card information unless you want to upgrade. Rhaposdy and the other sites are fraud! Do not let yourself get sucked in and lose money. Any complaint you have will be followed with an excuse and you will never see that money again. When I am told "free downloads with free 14 day mmbership" that is what I expect. How about you?
Tim, where did you go? Hope you are still working at Rhapsody!
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/101810quirkgoogle
Hey Tim, How close are the publishing issues with Nine Inch Nails to being resolved. I realy don't like having to lug CD's everywhere.