I wonder what others' pc=0 counts are (for those whose player libraries accurately reflect such things).
My local library shows 1073 songs unheard but I've only been on this laptop and using iTunes locally for the past year (Amarok locally before that). The number is skewed high because it reflects purchases from 2009 that I copied over. On our Mini in the living room, 33580 out of 49406 have a play count of 0. That collection reflects some 10 years of MP3 collecting and 20 years of CD collecting and was "put into service" 2.5 years ago. My father loves to point out that at a rate of 17 tracks per day it will take us 5.5 years to listen to the remainder once if we stop buying music. I just tell him that until my physician tells me I need to hit a 90 in-patient facility to dry out I'm going to keep on buying because, really, I can quit at any time.
I only just recently started using playlists, and it's not too long before that that I switched to an iPod, so very little of my listening history is in iTunes, and over 90% of the collection still has a pc=0 after a valiant first month. That's actually kind of fun, though, because now that I am using smart lists I am using them to systematically work back through the whole collection at least once. It's such a good motivation that I'm thinking that some time in the future I might want to reset it all to zero again. (Of course that's also why I just posted two albums I don't like to the "what are you listening to right now" thread).
Yes, that would achieve the same kind of effect. There is just something alluring to me about tackling this big mass of "unplayed" stuff and shifting it from zero to one, and seeing the 'never played' stat in Musicrazor inch downwards. Right now it's giving me that extra push to go listen to older stuff off my current beaten path.
Smart playlists might come to the rescue here, though I think you're already talking about one kind. I created one on my ipod for Recently Added, but also One for Underplayed tracks for the same reasons you mentioned above. I was trying to create a new music playlist each month, but found the process tedious.
I think a smart-playlist bug is what kept a bunch of those albums as unlistened. Dunno, will have to rebuild them all over the weekend and see if there is any change.
I was getting some new music all the time, but after looking at playcounts, it seems to have been getting selected by album and not selected by random.
Perfect example of why I quit eMusic: they just lured me back in for a month with a first month for 99 cents deal. Ok, I got $11.99. Bought one album for $5.10, now I have $6.89 left. Most new releases are $6.99. Can't do that. Well, I could get a $5.99 something or other and a couple of random tracks, but I don't like just downloading random tracks. There's a couple of shorter things I want, but one is $3.92, the other $3.24 so I can't do both of those. The fact that I have to get out the calculator to figure out how to spend my credit really pisses me off. I suppose I shouldn't complain about it for getting almost $12 for a buck, but this just reinforces my decision to stay away frm eMu. It's just too complicated and the deals aren't there anymore.
Tried going through the site today and listen to samples of new releases. The site is clunky as ever. Now that I've been off of it for a couple weeks, I'm reminded just how bad their site is. Shame on emu. They're an internet company with a bad internet site. Pathetic.
We changed computers about 16 months ago, and as part of the process of moving itunes my last played all got zeroed. During 2010 I was determined to play everything at least once. I managed it just about for all the music on my ipod (ie ticked stuff) but even with a fair bit of checking and unchecking the tick, I still actually managed only about half of what was in itunes. I try to play everything I download at least once, ideally 2 or 3 times, and I am still making up on my back list of unplayed, but if I achieve it this year I will be suprised, as I have enough music to play continuously for 50 days....
greg, as part of the process of moving itunes my last played all got zeroed.
If you face this again, post here. I can help you with it. I'm a level 4 or 5 or something over at Apple discussions, and my specialty is helping folks recover itunes libraries.
16 months is too long gone, though.
The main file you need to be backing up weekly is iTunesLibrary.itl
When I say backing up, that means to another drive, like a separate USB memory stick. Not just a different folder on the same C: or drive as the main PC. Cuz if the PC goes bad, it's all history.
Seen at emusic today....I guess Raster Noton is branching out into new kinds of experimental techno :-)
Incidentally, I'm also thoroughly bemused that emusic would think it knows what music my mother likes. Or my wife for that matter (also a mother). Not even close on either count. How could there even be a kind of music that mothers like qua mothers? Does giving birth leave behind a hormone that makes you like Robert Plant? Is Paul Simon hard-wired into delivery rooms? Does the stress of having children induce the belief that Rod Stewart makes cool music?
Based on the tattooed and body-pierced moms I see dropping off young kids at school these days, they don't seem like a group listening to a lot of Rod Stewart. "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy...I got you a Skinny Puppy CD!"
My daughter's name is, in fact, Margaret (Maggie) May.
I'm back! They gave the old "why did you break up with us?" .99 for $11.99. The message says "up to two albums!" Not bad for .99, but I don't see me sticking around at that price.
I mentioned in the What are you Listening to thread that I too got an $11.99 for $0.99 offer. That makes every month since January that I've gotten something and I only quit the first time in November. Why would anyone subscribe?
They sent that .99 for 11.99 offer to me in April. HURRY! Expires May 5th!
The same offer is still there now, expiring in June.
Exactly, why would anyone subscribe?
1 year of a monthly sub followed by 4 years of an annual sub and I've still never received a "please come back offer". Not even on one of my secondary accounts. It really pisses me off.
I only cancelled about 5 weeks ago and I haven't received a 'please come back' offer, either. But I noticed if I log in to my old account, I get the rejoin offer (.99 for one month of the 11.99 basic).
Thinking about a new account. $20 credit = 50% off their prices for a month. Then cancel. Rinse. Repeat. Alright, not actually going to do it every month, but there's a few releases I've had trouble finding elsewhere for a decent price that would be good to pick up now. Just got some money from my Dad for work I did for a club of his, might be a good month to earmark as a "catch up on releases" time period.
I'm still working through one of those rejoin offers. Something that I've found is that with the combo of album pricing and higher pricing per track on new releases, most jazz albums I want are over six bucks. I joined emu originally to pick up new release jazz. Nearly indistinguishable from a price perspective from Amazon and Bandcamp. Obviously some exceptions, but emu seems to be pricing me out of my primary reason for having joined in the first place.
That said, I sure do appreciate the rejoin offer I'm working through. One dollar gets me twelve.
The right subscription plus booster acquisitions will still land a voracious consumer 25-40% off competitors, in my experience. But those are bulk figures (annual sub and big boosters).
It's all over the map now.
Nuuk by Thomas Köner (just dropped): Amazon $8.99, emusic $3.43. (emusic = 60% saving)
courant.air by Nicolas Bernier: emusic $5.52, MTraks $2.66 (on a $9.99/month). (emusic = + 50%) (but $7.92 @ Amazon)
And both of these albums not in stock at various other places.
If you're after specific artists and they are not mainstream you just have to check everywhere now. Claims about who is generally cheaper depend to a large degree on exactly what you want to buy. (e.g. the Amazon deals are a great thing in principle but have contained almost nothing I want to buy).
Comments
My local library shows 1073 songs unheard but I've only been on this laptop and using iTunes locally for the past year (Amarok locally before that). The number is skewed high because it reflects purchases from 2009 that I copied over. On our Mini in the living room, 33580 out of 49406 have a play count of 0. That collection reflects some 10 years of MP3 collecting and 20 years of CD collecting and was "put into service" 2.5 years ago. My father loves to point out that at a rate of 17 tracks per day it will take us 5.5 years to listen to the remainder once if we stop buying music. I just tell him that until my physician tells me I need to hit a 90 in-patient facility to dry out I'm going to keep on buying because, really, I can quit at any time.
I was getting some new music all the time, but after looking at playcounts, it seems to have been getting selected by album and not selected by random.
Tried going through the site today and listen to samples of new releases. The site is clunky as ever. Now that I've been off of it for a couple weeks, I'm reminded just how bad their site is. Shame on emu. They're an internet company with a bad internet site. Pathetic.
If you face this again, post here. I can help you with it. I'm a level 4 or 5 or something over at Apple discussions, and my specialty is helping folks recover itunes libraries.
16 months is too long gone, though.
The main file you need to be backing up weekly is iTunesLibrary.itl
When I say backing up, that means to another drive, like a separate USB memory stick. Not just a different folder on the same C: or
Seen at emusic today....I guess Raster Noton is branching out into new kinds of experimental techno :-)
Incidentally, I'm also thoroughly bemused that emusic would think it knows what music my mother likes. Or my wife for that matter (also a mother). Not even close on either count. How could there even be a kind of music that mothers like qua mothers? Does giving birth leave behind a hormone that makes you like Robert Plant? Is Paul Simon hard-wired into delivery rooms? Does the stress of having children induce the belief that Rod Stewart makes cool music?
My daughter's name is, in fact, Margaret (Maggie) May.
Craig
The same offer is still there now, expiring in June.
Exactly, why would anyone subscribe?
That said, I sure do appreciate the rejoin offer I'm working through. One dollar gets me twelve.
Nuuk by Thomas Köner (just dropped): Amazon $8.99, emusic $3.43. (emusic = 60% saving)
courant.air by Nicolas Bernier: emusic $5.52, MTraks $2.66 (on a $9.99/month). (emusic = + 50%) (but $7.92 @ Amazon)
And both of these albums not in stock at various other places.
If you're after specific artists and they are not mainstream you just have to check everywhere now. Claims about who is generally cheaper depend to a large degree on exactly what you want to buy. (e.g. the Amazon deals are a great thing in principle but have contained almost nothing I want to buy).