The axe has fallen, or is in the process of falling. I checked my Yahoo! mailbox (which I do less frequently than my regular email) and there it was. Yahoo, in its wisdom and mercy, is discontinuing Launchcast in Canada as of April 15th. It's not as if I wasn't warned, but I had hoped that we'd somehow been overlooked up here north of the US border.To wit: Yahoo! Music is changing its strategy to be more aligned with the needs of our music users. We are moving our current Music offering away from being mainly a radio-streaming service and opening up Yahoo! Music to the rest of the Web to give you the best information, music videos, pictures and news about your favourite music genres and artists. They also assure me: Starting now, we will begin removing selected LAUNCHcast Radio stations from the Yahoo! Music Canada site. LAUNCHcast Plus stations will remain until April 15, 2009, at which time all radio stations will be removed from Yahoo! Music Canada. We will continue to offer you the most comprehensive music-related content, features and information on the Web, including our extensive music video catalogue, blogs and music information pages. In addition, we plan to launch the new-look Yahoo! Music over the next few months, which will showcase the 'best of the Web' in music for our users.
Horse hockey. What this actually means, Yahoo, is the station I've carefully been building up for the past five or six years, that has been introducing me to all kinds of music I wouldn't ordinarily hear, will have its plug yanked in three and a half weeks' time. Well, you murderers,I plan to make its final days the happiest it's ever had, visiting every day,sharing fond memories, bringing flowers and chocolates...
Seeing as Launchcast doesn't actually eat chocolate, I guess I'll be really bloated and splotchy by mid-April.
Damn you, Yahoo.
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5 comments:
I know it's probably not much consolation, but can you get Spotify? I've just discovered it and it's is changing my online life, as I can find any music I like, listen while I'm working and feel guilt free as they pay for it by chucking an ad in every 15 mins, which is less tiresome then commercial radio stations. You can also download tracks for free, which is going along way to easing my guilt about finding songs I want for the creative process, and to save time (I very often have them on CD anyway) ahem, perhaps doing the odd bit of file sharing wot I ought not to. Goes against all my principles about protecting copyright, but Spotify allows me to be principled and get what I want. Magic.
"Yahoo! Music is changing its strategy to be more aligned with the needs of our music users."
That's the kind of BS I can't stand. Music users, we are attuned to your needs, which is why we are taking away the music you use. This is for you, all for you. We are doing you a favour. Thank us.
Alas, Jane/Jules, I attempted to access Spotify a few days ago, and was told that my computer didn't recognise the software. Or something like that.
Marie, I get the same spiel from our glorious education system. Every time they've withdrawn services from my younger daughter, I've been told what fabulous news this is: "She's doing so well, we're taking away the stuff that has been helping her do so well." Bilge water.
Yup, sucky treatment on the part of Yahoo and I did suspect theat Spotify may not be fully accessible. RawRip has some interesting stuff line and allows streaming - it also organises so purchases send more money direct to the artistes which is good...
Not sure if lastFm is open to you... Again though, really sorry about the loss of Launchcast (and the prospective chocolate overload...)
Lisa, you won't get full access to everything at Spotify without paying them a tenner a month, but for my purposes so far, I've found nearly everything I've been looking for, apart from Ralph Mc Tell's Streets of London which seems rarer then hen's teeth. Made do with Cat Steven's version, but it's not the same, because Ralph McTell's is the one I remember from childhood, and which therefore is cast on my soul.
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