Play music online.
Playing music online is an enjoyable activity you can experience anywhere you have an Internet connection. In many cases this can be done for free. There are thousands of online music services, also known as online radio stations, to suit your tastes and budget. Internet radio stations require registration and some offer premium services for a membership fee. An Internet radio station has dozens of categories to choose from, and unlike terrestrial radio where a single format is followed, you can listen to jazz, classical and rock all in one place.
Instructions
1. Log onto the Internet by opening a Web browser like Internet Explorer, Firefox Mac Safari or Google Chrome. You can enter any music services into the address bar to learn about music online. Services like Rhapsody.com, Music.napster.com and Pandora.com are all excellent choices to begin exploring what services appeal to you. Each of these services offers free online music with upgrades to premium services offering expansive music libraries, portable music downloads for MP3 players and personalization options to make play lists.
If you are a member of Yahoo.com or Aol.com, you can subscribe for free through your account by going to your home page and clicking "Listen to music online." These services offer a good selection of genres.
Go directly to Last.fm.com for another free service that requires a simple sign-up with an email address. This website offers many features found on premium fee based services.
Decide if you want an Internet radio station or a paid service offering downloads, videos and much more for a fee.
2. Choose the music service that meets your needs and register to set up your account. Some services like Rhapsody.com offer a free 14-day trial if you are having trouble deciding which service is right for you.
Many of the online music services offer similar features with differences in costs, subscription levels, download allotments and basic functionality. Some allow you to share music with your friends.
If you are interested in listening online and not downloading music to an MP3 player, any free or low-cost service will do.
If you are interested in downloading music and also want to listen anywhere you have an Internet connection, choose a fee-based service.
3. Select the type of media player you wish to use to listen to music online. The music players offered on online radio stations enable you to play music through your computer and in some cases require a download.
Look for a download link that reads "Download music player" or "Download player" and select. Once your player is downloaded, begin exploring the music library offered by your online radio station.
4. Expand your listening preferences by going to your online radio station's home page, or directly on your music player, and log in. Type any artist into a search field titled, "suggest music" or "recommend music." Many online radio stations offer a feature that learns your listening preferences and suggests similar artists. This is a quick way to build your play list and make listening online more enjoyable, as well as a way of discovering new music.
5. Open your music player by clicking on the icon on your desktop or by opening a browser and going to the Web address for the service you signed up for. Click to open your service and log on.
Open music player, select an artist or song and press play. You will notice your service will start suggesting similar music that you may select and save in your play list. You can also search for other music while you are listening to music.
Select your music player's "Add music" menu to set up your preference for organizing your music by title, artist or song. This is also where you can personalize your stations or album covers and view information on upcoming events and music news.
Tags: music player, music online, online radio, online music, radio station