Waxing Rhapsodic

Okay, I'm becoming more and more enamored with the whole Rhapsody concept, to the point where it might re-energize the whole online music book idea that's fallen way off the radar.

It's flawed, sure. For one, it's only useful if you're stationary. At least until there's ubiquitous wireless broadband. Second, there are obvious holes in the catalog. Three Sides Live from Genesis doesn't have "In The Cage," which is exactly the song I wanted to hear from that record.

But if you're stuck at a desk for eight hours a day, you can pay $10 a month and listen to a lot of music. Stuff you have on CD at home. Stuff you don't. If you end up NOT buying 8 to 10 CDs in a year because you have immediate access to them, it pays off.

Of course, it's not free, so it still pales next to the big peer-to-peer guns, but free is still an untenable position for any producer of music to hold without a massive paradigm shift in the industry.

In the meantime, I can listen to a box set of Stevie Wonder that I can say with almost absolute certainty I never would have thought to pick up. If I do buy it, Rhapsody is the cost of educating myself about available options. If I don't, I've effectively saved a chunk of change now that I know I might want it. And the artist-centric radio stations and "samplers" are pretty damn cool to boot.