If you find yourself jealous over the music you hear played when you go out to a new bar or become intrigued when you hear a hipster talk about a band only three other people have heard about, you used to be out of luck.
Asking for help at the record store always seems intimidating because of snotty store clerks, and on the flip side finding help at a big box electronics store is next to impossible unless you want tech support or a new home entertainment system.
With streaming Internet websites you can increase your obscure music knowledge and gain a stronger sense of melody.
Pandora
Pandora has become the industry standard for providing streaming music content. Most businesses and restaurants have an iPhone connected to their speaker system with a streaming connection to a Pandora Station.
When you sign up for Pandora you can select an artist you are interested in and create a radio station that will include artists similar to your original selection. The only drawback to using Pandora is the 40 hour monthly limit it allows for usage.
By upgrading to a premium service you not only gain unlimited access, but you eliminate annoying ads between songs.
Create a free Pandora account and start enjoying great music today.
Last.fm
Last.fm is an excellent service to use if you want to keep visitors on their toes at all times. By setting up a profile you can pick an artist and hear other songs other users think are similar.
Not only does Last.Fm provide a streaming music service, it allows you to connect with other users in the form of a social network exclusive to the site. You can also discover concerts and festivals taking place throughout your area.
Create a free Last.fm account and start enjoying great music today.
Spotify
New to the streaming music scene, Spotify is quickly gaining popularity among the young social media elite.
By integrating a Spotify account with your Facebook profile, you can share what you are listening to with your Facebook friends, listen to playlists created by friends with Spotify, and generate playlists by integrating with Last.fm.
According to Reuters, the service is so popular that Facebook is even looking to integrate it into user’s profiles by-default.
Sign up for a free Spotify account today.
Music Videos (NetFlix, Hulu, YouTube)
If you need a visual form of entertainment to keep guests occupied, there are several streaming services at your disposal. For a fee of $7.99 you can have access to an extensive library of movies, television shows, and documentaries by purchasing a subscription to NetFlix.
If you want to see what everyone is talking about at work regarding the latest shows; Hulu provides the latest episodes of hit television series’. The old standby of YouTube is also a great way to beef up on your pop culture knowledge and find new videos because of the new recommendation feature.
There is no excuse for you not to be uncovering music and other entertainment. What was once buried in the annals of hipsterdom and snobbery is now available at your fingertips through a smartphone.
Vanessa Burke has been communicating to anyone who will listen to her ever since she could first make a sound. It seems that not much has changed over the years. She is a fanatic of anything digital, including books, music, and technology in general, and the business processes that make it happen.
The world is a complex place and she wants to leave no stone unturned.
