Newest New Player in Digital Music, Rara.com, Is Thinking Visually

A new streaming service, Rara.com, was introduced in the United States and 15 countries in Europe, and its design is based on the premise that Spotify, Rhapsody and other competitors have bland interfaces that turn off potential customers.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/newest-new-player-in-digital-music-rara-com-is-thinking-visually/

No blank search box or long lists of songs for Rara. Instead, they’re going for colorful buttons representing moods like “Sunday morning” or “feel like crying.” Those buttons correspond to playlists programmed by the company.

Pete Townshend [legendary giutarist for The Who] calls Apple [not Steve Jobs] a “digital vampire”: Townshend questioned why Apple was not providing the services traditionally offered by record labels, such as employing talent scouts and nurturing new musical artists.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/01/pete_townshend_trashes_apple/