Questions:

[go] What do you get with the streaming membership?
[go] Are the podcasts commercial free?
[go] Can I use my own music player? (winamp? iTunes?)
[go] Does it work on Linux? Mac? Windows?
[go] Does it work with Firefox? IE? Others?
[go] Are there any listening time limits?
[go] Are there members-only features?
[go] Can I upgrade to the download membership?
[go] How do I cancel my streaming membership?
[go] How are your musicians paid for my streaming membership?
[go] Are there any desktop programs for using Magnatune streaming membership?
[go] Do you have commercial-free versions of your Internet radio stations?
[go] Do you have commercial free versions of your Second Life audio streams?
[go] Do you have a mobile phone, or iPhone version available?
[go] How much of a discount do I get if I get a one year membership?
[go] What is the lifetime membership?
[go] Can I share my membership with others?
[go] Do you donate money to open source programs?

Answers:

What do you get with the streaming membership?

Mostly, it is the Magnatune web site without any commercials. You can go to http://stream.magnatune.com and use all the normal ways of finding music, and play everything over the web as if you owned it, but without needing to download it.

The streaming membership is best for people who listen to music using a computer connected to the Internet, especially if they want to listen to music at work and not be interrupted by the commercials. It is also good for people who buy a lot of Magnatune downloads, and would like to be able to find music to buy without having to listen to the commercials while doing so.

Are the podcasts commercial free?

Yes, all the streaming membership podcasts are commercial free, are refreshed weekly, and are two hours long, as compared to the one hour free podcasts that have commercials.

Can I use my own music player? (winamp? iTunes?)

Yes, you can use your own music player to play any album at Magnatune. Simply click on the "m3u" link on any of the album play pages. That is a playlist of MP3 files that most music players will work with. On Windows, Winamp and Microsoft media player play m3u perfectly.

If you are using Linux, we recommend you click the "ogg" link, because ogg vorbis files are fully open source, work on most Linux distributions, and sound better at a significantly smaller size than MP3 files. If you use Linux, Amarok and Rhythmbox let you stream Magnatune music as if you had it locally and don't you need to use the Magnatune web site at all.

If you are using iTunes, and want to listen to Magnatune streams using iTunes, we need to tell you that the m3u support in iTunes is not very good. The problem is that iTunes tends to play the songs out of order and get confused with the playlist. The solution is to download the m3u file to your desktop, and drag it into a newly created empty playlist in iTunes.

However, a better solution is to install M3U2iTunes, a program which improves iTunes support for m3u files. You can download it here: http://www.burroak.on.ca/m3u2itunes.html

Does it work on Linux? Mac? Windows?

Yes, because the Magnatune streaming membership is just a web site, and does not use any copy protection (DRM), it works on all operating systems.

However, you must have Adobe Flash installed on your web browser. It is installed by default on Mac and Windows, but not on all Linux distributions. On Linux, we recommend that you install Adobe Flash, and not one of the open source alternatives, as they don't seem to work perfectly with our audio player.

The Apple iPhone and many other mobile phones do not support Flash, so you cannot use them yet. We are working on a solution specifically for the Apple iPhone And expect that to be available this summer when the Apple iPhone API becomes available.

Does it work with Firefox? IE? Others?

Yes, we have found that Magnatune works in all web browsers.

On Linux, be sure that you install Adobe Flash and not one of the open source alternatives, which we have found do not work reliably.

Are there any listening time limits?

There are no listening time limits, you can listen 24 hours a day if you want.

Are there members-only features?

Yes, having a membership enables the "favorites" feature.

When you are listening to an album using the Magnatune web site, you can mark an album as a favorite. You can then do a number of things with your favorite albums:

1) one-click add albums to your favorites as you listen to them. Download them later, when it's convenient.

2) listen to all your favorite albums (sequentially or as a shuffle mix) on the web with our flash player, or inside your own media player via the m3u/ogg/xspf links.

3) iTunes sync: instantly import their favorite Magnatune albums (as streams) into iTunes.

More information about these features is available on these blog pages: favorites and instant iTunes import.

Can I upgrade to the download membership?

You can upgrade to the download membership any time you like, and the remaining prorated credit you have in your streaming membership will be automatically applied to your upgrade.

How do I cancel my streaming membership?

Go to:
http://stream.magnatune.com/member/

And click the "cancel" link.

How are your musicians paid for my streaming membership?

As always with Magnatune, half the money we receive goes directly to the musicians.

In the case of a streaming membership, half your membership fee will be paid monthly to the musicians that you listen to.

If you listen to an album more than once, the musician will be paid more.

For example, in one month, if stream-listen to 10 albums, this is how we would pay our musicians from your $9/month fee:

• $4.50 (50%) goes to Magnatune
• $4.50 goes to the musicians you streamed
• Since you streamed 10 albums, each musician you streamed gets $0.45 that month.

In the case of the lifetime membership, musicians are paid as if you had a five year membership, so that they get paid sooner rather than later.

Are there any desktop programs for using Magnatune streaming membership?

You can use any web browser to listen to our music, as well as any program that can play MP3s off the Internet. The password authentication we use for membership is the oldest, most reliable standard (it's called HTTP AUTH) and most programs support it.

However, we also are active supporters of the open-source music program Amarok, and the upcoming 2.0 version has great support for both the streaming and download memberships. It is currently available only on Linux, but Mac and Windows versions are currently in beta testing and should be available in a few months. The software is open source and completely free.

The Linux program Rhythmbox supports Magnatune very well, but only the free version of the Magnatune streams: it does not have any membership support.

The free music player Songbird supports Magnatune through a plugin, but only the free version: it does not have any membership support. The Magnatune plugin is available via the Songbird plugin menu choice (Tools/Add-ons) as well as at http://addons.songbirdnest.com/extensions/detail/226

Do you have commercial-free versions of your Internet radio stations?

No. The two Internet radio stations we run (shoutcast) are only available in with-commercials versions.

Do you have commercial free versions of your Second Life audio streams?

No. The second life audio streams are only available with commercials, there are no commercial free versions.

Do you have a mobile phone, or iPhone version available?

If your mobile phone supports web browsing with flash, which some do, it should work with Magnatune. The IPhone does not currently work, but we expect to have special software for the iPhone available this summer when the iPhone API becomes available.

How much of a discount do I get if I get a one year membership?

A one year membership costs $96, versus paying quarterly, which comes out to $108, for a savings of $12, which is 11%.

What is the lifetime membership?

This is a one time fee which lets you use the streaming membership forever.

Can I share my membership with others?

Sorry, but only one person at a time may use your streaming membership. We may cancel your membership if we find many people using it at the same time.

Do you donate money to open source programs?

Yes, if you sign up for a Magnatune membership using either Rhythmbox or Amarok, 10% of your monthly membership fee is donated to that project.