What To Look For In A Music Radio Streaming Service

Are you tired of paying a dollar for every song that you have in your music library and ready to move on to a streaming radio service? If so, this can be a great way to save money per month and be exposed to new songs and artists that you have not heard before. Here are some tips for what to look for when selecting a music radio streaming service.

Stream Quality

If you are a bit of an audiophile, you may have some concerns about the quality of the music you are listening to. It's a good reason to find out what bitrate the music streams at when you are listening to the service you are interested in and what the various quality options are. For example, there may be high-quality service, but it is only available over WiFi. If so, think about where you plan to listen to the majority of your music and if that works for your needs.

Time Shifting Ability

Even though radio services are typically thought of as being live, you may be surprised at how some allow you to timeshift channels. Having the ability to pause a song so you don't miss the end of it or back up the channel a bit so you can skip songs you don't like is a huge plus. If you do have the ability to skip songs, be aware that there may be a limit to how often you are able to do it. This is because radio streaming is often licensed at a cheaper price than an on-demand music library, so there are limitations to the number of skips that you can perform before you are limited for a short while.

Mobile App Interface

Every radio streaming service has an app these days, so take a look at the interface and see how it feels to you. Does the interface seem easy to use, or does it feel a bit clunky? This is the interface you are going to be using on a daily basis, so definitely consider your enjoyment of the interface when deciding if you want to stick with the service.

Offline Listening Ability

Radio stations may have live content, but find out if there is an ability to listen to music offline. Downloading a radio show over your WiFi network can certainly help prevent you from racking up data charges when you are on a cellular network and can make a big difference in your cell phone bill.