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Add to SafariWhen comparing 8 Tracks vs Google Play Music, the Slant community recommends 8 Tracks for most people. In the question“What are the best ways of finding new music?” 8 Tracks is ranked 10th while Google Play Music is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose 8 Tracks is:
The site is human-curated not automated. This can give a more personal feel, as each playlist on the music streaming service has been curated by a user.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Individualistic and personalized user playlists
The site is human-curated not automated. This can give a more personal feel, as each playlist on the music streaming service has been curated by a user.
Pro Great for discovering new music
Due to how the service works, listening to user created playlists allows for pretty good discovery of new or undiscovered bands.
Pro Free no advertisements
Google Play Music is a free service for storing and streaming ones library that has zero advertisements in the interface as well as the playing music.
Pro Instant mixes
Google Play Music can make smart recommendations for playlist by the user just picking an artist or song they want recommendations formed from.
Pro Also offers streaming service
GPM can be used as a normal music player but also as a streaming service like Spotify.
Pro Plays from any source
Plays local music as well as from DLNA sources, so I can play from my home servers as well.
Pro Upload library through browser
Google has added the option of uploading songs through the browser with the help of a Chrome extension download as well as directly through the desktop Chrome app.
Cons
Con Poor music streaming service outside of North America
8Tracks has changed its policy for how it supplies music to those outside of North America by not using any of their servers for those users. This change resulted in using Youtube for those users in order to still have a way to add songs to playlists. Sadly using Youtube results in many songs just disappearing and many playlists becoming defunct.
Con Advertisements in free version
Con No way to find certain songs
8 Tracks allows you to search for a playlist based on keywords, then requires you to listen to most of that playlist without skipping. As such, it's not so good for hunting down a specific song, but is great for discovering new music.
Con Confusing to use
Con No folder support
Con Want credit card info before using "free" service
Con Status bar not sensitive nor customizable
There is no way to go easily go back a specific amount of time (for example: Audible has a button that allows you to go back 30 seconds).
The status bar could be more time specific. If you want to go back to a particular segment of listening, there is no way to know exactly where you will land. You have to do some kind of guessing and it is annoying. Lot of time wasted in searching in a blind manner.
Con Quality only as high as 320kbps MP3s
There is no option to listen to lossless music, even if that is what the user has uploaded. The highest quality is 320kbps MP3s. If a lossless track has been uploaded and the user then downloads the track at a later date the file will also only be a 320kbps MP3.
Con No way to start the app in ones library
The app offers no way to actually start up in ones library, either in the desktop Chrome app or the Android app. For those that only use this app for listening to their purchased or uploaded music this is pretty annoying as there s no real need for the front page of recommendations and activity. This doe snot necessarily need to be some social platform but just a way to listen to ones music, really the user should have the choice, especially if they are paying for this service through purchased music or their streaming service.
