Song sounds weird on Pandora (Sade)

I'm noticing that a lot of old songs sound different on the radio. They *are* different, in fact. I'm sure of it. I'm guessing that it's a way for someone different to make royalties. (Release a different version: "the version we really wanted to put out in the first place.")

But they labeled it as the original recording with the original art.

It's the bitrate it's being streamed at to blame most likely. Streaming can be HQ or TragicQ. Just like MP3s. The higher the bitrate the better the sound quality. Sounds like a case of TQ, OP.

Radio stations spend lots of money on audio processors like Orban and Omnia, which are elaborate noise reduction, distortion reduction, loudness leveling, multiband compression and limiting boxes. These give stations a thicker, louder and more distinctive presence on the dial. They can also change the sound of music that passes through them sort of like a remix. Streaming services generally don't do this, keeping the sound more natural.

If you want to hear audio processing that's very excessive, check out the "Big 80's" stream on TuneIn.

Here's a thread about this that might explain the situation.

The music of Sade has gotten me through a lot of hard times.

Wow thank you R5! That link took me to another thread which after reading through discovered that:

[quote]I also forgot to mention that the original European cd for Diamond Life really should be sought out for other reasons, namely that "Smooth Operator" is an entirely different recording and "Your Love Is King" is also slightly different/longer.

[quote]The first time I heard the different version of Smooth Operator, I was shocked. The difference isn't subtle. It sounds like a demo compared to the version that became a hit. If I knew how to do so, I would post a clip of it.

This 2nd quote is exactly what I heard today. Someone replied saying: "My Diamond Life is an early DADC pressing (RK 39581/DIDP 20135) and YLIK is 3:59. What would I listen for to tell apart the different versions of "Smooth Operator"

I guess that's what Pandora played. It was quite shocking. I had the original US LP and CD which didn't have this "demo" sounding version.

This says the demos were the released versions.....but the general process might explain why there was a bit of difference?

I was really pissed when Apple Music (which I generally love) replaced my own owned track of Linda Ronstadt’s studio recording of “Living in the USA” with a terrible recording of a live performance.

I'm still on iTunes. When I "turn on" Apple Music, 33% of my music, all owned by myself, disappears as Unavailable in my country, and it replaces some of my songs with streams of other editions of those songs. So, I have not abandoned iTunes and I switch off Apple Music. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll have to find a solution and its not going to be as easy as iTunes was for 15 years.

R10, I can sympathize with you. Apple basically abandoned iTunes for years. Then, they came out with two apps to replace iTunes: Apple music & Apple TV. With an eye toward selling you monthly subscriptions (streaming). (iTunes was geared toward one-time purchases and creating libraries.)

Maybe look at your backups. If you backed up your iTunes stuff, you should have an independent copy of whatever. However, you'd have to use the Apple apps to play your stuff. It sounds like, now, you are trying to download stuff from the cloud. If Apple removes stuff from the cloud, then you're out of luck unless you have a backup.

I never switched on the thing where Apple could update your locally saved music to a higher quality version, which allowed them to do the kind of stuff people are complaining about.

I haven't had many problems since I bought a new Mac and had to switch from one to the other, but I did it manually. I always lose a bit when I get a new computer but I think it's been maybe a handful of songs that I may have even deleted at some point.

R11 nope. It's Apple Music that is streamed. My iTunes library is fully my own music tripped by me. iTunes was my music manager and player. It still works, but its going to not work soon on MAC. They will continue with it longer on PC.

The issue for iTunes users, (old people like me), is when you turn on Apple Music, the "player" no longer prefers your library, it prefers the streaming content.

I'm not going to lose the files in my library but I need a new "music server" and "player" that is not Apple Music because that is a streamer based app.

There are plenty of servers and players but I don't feel like spending the time this year transferring my enormous and perfectly organized ITunes library to a new music manager.

I'm keeping a Macbook pro offline and using it with iTunes and not updating the OSX until I decide what to do next.

I'm playing my library fine on music. It does always want to point to the streaming part when it opens, but I just click over to where I can play from my own local library.

OK. When you made the switch did it import all your cover art correctly. Does it respect all your genres and any custom track info you added?

iTunes isn’t going to work on new iMacs soon????????

I was thinking about using my stimulus to get a new 27 inch iMac.

How could I play my own ripped songs if there is no iTunes?

Apple Music.

Itunes won't work on any Mac soon, when you update to the OSX that does not run it. Its a legacy app on Mac.

But Apple Music plays ripped and purchased songs, just as iTunes did

Can I transfer my iTunes library to Apple Music on a new iMac?

Is there an Apple Music Store to PURCHASE music? And DOWNLOAD it?

yes. but you can turn on "Apple Music" within iTunes at the moment and that is a mess.

I'm thinking of going back to hi-fidelity. Start with Rune.

Spotify is also bizarre with details like this. Some of their album art, from very well known bands and musicians will occasionally look like a low quality picture of the album cover. I respect the decisions of artists whether or not they want to be on that platform, but I'm also baffled when they do something like this when they opt to join it. Maybe it has something to do with licensing issues? Like skirting record label rights by releasing a demo instead of a finished product perhaps?

I do not stream and will never stream on Apple Music.

I want to continue to play my music library on an iMac.

I’m a dinosaur.

[quote] yes. but you can turn on "Apple Music" within iTunes at the moment and that is a mess.

You simply do NOT turn it on.

It shouldn't give you access to the streaming part, anyway, unless you signed up fir it.

R23 You are apparently a dinosaur who doesn't understand how to use his own computer.

On Spotify, there’s the most random selection of Blondie albums available. I know they’ve been on several labels but it’s bizarre that their 1999 comeback album, NO EXIT, is not available, but it’s companion live album is.

Yes you do not turn on Apple Music in iTunes. But ITunes is a goner. So eventually you need to go to Apple Music, or change out of the Apple system for music management.

[quote] Yes you do not turn on Apple Music in iTunes. But ITunes is a goner. So eventually you need to go to Apple Music, or change out of the Apple system for music management.

Apple Music has multiple components to it.

One component is a music player that's exactly like iTunes.

One component is streaming.

You never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever have to ever ever ever go into the streaming part of it, and can just use the side that works almost exactly like iTunes did (the only difference is that they eliminated the free internet radio stations and put them on the streaming side).

Thank you, R28.

iTunes is not available on macOS Catalina. It has nothing to do with purchasing an iMac it has to do with what osx you will run. iTunes is legacy now.

Some artists also re-record their songs if they are out of print or had a bad record deal. Obsession by Animotion is an example of one I’ve heard.

Just use Apple Music and, as stated above, avoid the streaming. There is a Library aspect to Apple Music. It looks very similar to iTunes interface.

Okay, hold on a sec and please clarify for me, because I JUST bought a new ipod Touch, but I haven't yet set it up.

I have two macs. One is a brand new laptop running Apple Music (which I have a free subscription to through Verizon). The other is a 10 year old desktop which is running something like High Sierra and which still has iTunes.

I listen to Apple Music on my phone and on my laptop, but I use iTunes on my desktop to manage my classic ipod 160gb, and make all sorts of manual playlists with music I own. I've got about 110gb of music on it. I would keep it forever if I could because I adore it. I want a player that simply plays what I put into it and I don't want my music files on my phone.

My ipod classic is starting to lose it. Battery life is only about 3 hours. So I bought a 256gb ipod Touch that arrived yesterday. Are you guys saying that if I enable Apple Music streaming on it, that some songs in my library that I own will disappear and be replaced by the versions that Apple Music has? If so-

Is there any way to keep them separate? And if not, are you saying I should just not enable Apple Music streaming on that ipod Touch?

Lastly- because my ipod touch is new, can I still use it on my old mac desktop that has iTunes (I assumed I was going to have to move all my music onto my laptop because the Touch is new and probably has an OS that isn't compatible with iTunes)? If I can just use iTunes, then I will.

I haven't opened the box yet, so I will happily return it and look for something else if my music is going to be replaced. I'll even spend the money and have the battery on my classic replaced.

Thanks!!

Let me try this one more time. And let me try to actually label two things differently.

I just bought a new iMac in December. Technically, "iTunes" as an entity does not exist any longer. iTunes used to be the catch all for their music sales, plus the way they sold TV shows, films, etc.

As you may have noticed before, earlier......they broke the TV and movie parts off into their own apps. Movies have their own icon/app now. TV shows are now purchased or viewed in the Apple TV app or on AppleTV itself.

The iTunes icon on my desktop was replaced by an icon that, if I hover above it with my cursor, says "Music." In almost every single way, this acts E X A C T L Y as iTunes did. Same access to my library of songs I purchased AND ripped. There's an option in that same menu on the left of the screen (where my playlists are) to click on the Music Store, which is the same thing as iTunes Store - if you want to purchase songs from Apple. I also still occasionally purchase mp3's from Amazon (cheaper there sometimes) and they still load into Apple in exactly the same way.

So let's call that Music. It's the Music App and the Music Store.

There is a difference between Music, the app and platform, and Apple Music the streaming service.

You DO NOT

DO NOT

DO NOT

DO NOT

DO NOT

have to use or engage with Apple Music the streaming service in any way shape or form ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever.

It is simply another choice you have IF you want a more Spotify/Pandora experience. But it's like a button on a remote control. It is one of multiple options and if you never press that button, you never have to use it.

For Apple, they are putting this all under the umbrella NAME of Apple Music. But you can think of Apple Music as an onramp to a highway. Many people will get on the onramp and go to the right, where the streaming stuff is. but you can go to the left, where all the local stuff is, all your purchased and ripped items.

When/if Apple says "have three months of Apple Music on us for free" they are talking about their *streaming service.* You will ALWAYS have access to your music on Apple Music, the app, the technical platform, for free, as it is part of the mechanics of having a Mac. With a few minor exceptions (breaking TV and film off into their own apps/icons, deleting the free Internet radio links), that part of Apple Music acts the same as iTunes.

This link may help you understand. (Fuck knows I don't know how it can be any clearer.) See the bits about "can I still play my mp3s" and "do I have to pay for it" etc.

R34, you are a terrific guy for explaining that so thoroughly - thank you! Whew!

One last question, my 2011 iMac hasn't gotten upgrades in over two years, it's outmoded, etc. Therefore, I still have iTunes.

When I get my new iMac, can I transfer all of my music and video from iTunes onto the new iMac with a USB cord (last time I did the airdrop thing and it took a whole day to complete). Will everything go into the proper app?

You've relieved my worries about getting a new iMac. I've been a Mac for over 20 years and despise PC and would hate to have to use a PC other than at my work office.

Thanks so much!

Sadly, a lot of artists re-record their classic hits and won't allow the original recordings to be streamed.

I know I can't get the original Twisted Sister singles -- I had to import the CD mp3s iinto Spotify. The same goes for the original "I Eat Cannibals" by Toto Coelo.

They sound too smooth and the vocals are not energetic. Listen to this garbage:

This is artists tinkering with old works because of their artistic perfection, not primarily a money grab.

It's like when George Lucas digitally remasters his STAR WARS trilogy and adds animated creatures to a scene or makes Greedo shoot a laser at Han Solo first. It's like when Spielberg edits the rifles out of E.T. and puts walkie talkies in the government agents' hands instead.

It's artistic tinkering and it destroys what people loved in the first place. They should leave well enough alone, or simply make the old and new versions available but label them differently.

APPLE MUSIC SUCKS, YOU GUYS!

Not only do they replace your songs with shitty versions, they try to control what you can listen to with tech that only plays copyright-verified tracks and they don't have half the features that Spotify does.

I was shocked when Apple Music debuted — they didn't even have all the sorting and playlist features that iTunes had for over a dozen years. The only reason it launched was to compete with Spotify, which has been out-performing Apple since Steve Jobs died.

Sadly, the Spotify feature to simply import all your playlists from iTunes no longer exists, but I think there are third-party apps online that can do that for you.

But Spotify allows you to play ripped or file-shared mp3s from any source and mix them on playlists with their music, without any of the Digital Rights Management control fuckery. You just have to rip and import the mp3 into your Local Files collection and it becomes a seamless part of Spotify's library. search, artist and playlist functions. Plus Spotify can do everything iTunes has ever done and more.

You guys have to get away from Apple Music, they're no longer the innovators or biggest market share for streaming.

r13 is really behind the times.

R38, what would you suggest then?

r22 and r25, yes, sometimes a streaming service can only get the streaming rights for part of an artist's work rather than their entire oeuvre.

With Spotify, I had to CD rip and import tracks from NO EXIT (and most of Blondie's stuff since) as well as most of Joan Jett's stuff and half of the Groovie Ghoulies', too. For some reason, Olivia Newton John's GOLD album goes in and out of availability, so I eventually just imported the CD album to keep it solid. But at least Spotify lets you do that in a relatively simple way.

However, I don't think this is the problem the OP is talking about, which is artistic tinkering.

R38, are you saying that you can upload songs to Spotify like demos or unreleased concert recordings or your own rips - and OTHER LISTENERS can hear them in the playlists, too? Not just you?

Many years ago, I added my own rips into my playlists but no one else could hear them.

R41, can OTHERS hear NO EXIT on your playlists? Because only "Maria" shows up from a Greatest Hits collection. I REALLY need the album version of "Screaming Skin" on a playlist for OTHERS to hear.

I'm pretty much a minimalist, but this almost makes me want to go back to CDs, where you own the rights to it and can play it on any app.

R35 I had iTunes on my 2013 iMac until I just replaced it in December.

I have a huge library (20K + songs) so we got an external hard drive, exported them to the drive, and reimported then to the new Mac.

That process went fine, everything works fine. The only odd thing that happened on some of the songs is that some of them lost their cover art. And that can totally be fixed manually.

r33, why would you want an iPod with only 3 hours of battery life when your phone has more room for songs and a longer battery?

Why do you want to schlepp around two devices? Why carry your "carefully organized mp3s" around when streaming gives you practically every song in the world mixed with your own mp3s however you like?

Is it just the ads or subscription fee you're trying to avoid? Do you dread re-organizing, which playlist import apps could do for you? Do you only listen to the same music over and over, rather than exposing yourself to new music or delving deeper into your favorite artists' discographies?

P.S. No service or app should erase your iTunes library of mp3s, whether they're on your old devices or data-transferred to your new ones. It's just finding the right player or app and how to import them properly.

R36, there are OTHER ways of finding and downloading the original versions of songs like "I Eat Cannibals." I think Muriel would shut down the thread, though.

But I easily found the original single version and the Extended Version from 1982. Awesome!!!!

I also downloaded the re-recorded version: bilge. Fucking horrible.

Re-recordings are 100% trying to make money rather than left the original record company have it. See Taylor Swift for modern day evidence.

I HATE the Matt Bianco re-recordings!!!

r34, so Apple Music still doesn't let you create playlists with a mix of mp3s you own, independent/ripped mp3s and the streaming songs?

Ditch those douchenozzles for Spotify, STAT! They are behind the times and always playing catch-up now.

R48, yes, you can make playlists on Apple Music. Playlists that involve stuff you own independently of Apple / iTunes. I'm not a huge fan of Apple Music right now, but I can attest that I'm able to do that.

R48 I still have all the same playlists I had before. When I imported the files from one computer to another, it saved them all.

I have not experienced what R38 has.

I guess I'm not understanding how R38 set their music library up that they wouldn't be able to make a playlist?

But all of my tracks have either been purchased from Apple or Amazon, or ripped into my iTunes from a CD, and I can still play them all, make free standing playlists, as well as Smart Playlists by artist/album.

Even if the Apple Music app won't import all your old iTunes mp3s, it shouldn't be erasing them from your iTunes library folders.

No, r42, you cannot share your Local Files to other listeners unless you actually upload them as registered artist tracks — after which, they'd probably get torn down for copyright infringement. But hey, people do it on Youtube and Spotify all the time.

Local Files are your personal, independent tracks stored on Spotify servers for mixing seamlessly on your own devices. Every Spotify user would have to import them to their own Local Files.

I think people get away with posting bootlegs of music, TV and movies on Youtube more because they're not getting paid for it, save for the possible trickle of ad dividends.

If you were to upload bootlegs on Spotify as an artist, you'd be getting royalties, which is a more obvious form of piracy.

Here's a public playlist of NO EXIT, for free to all. I rip mp3s from Youtube and import them to Spotify all the time. That's where all the unreleased stuff is.

I'm listening to my copy of No Exit right now.

I'm glad to hear that Apple finally copied Spotify to allow you to mix independent mp3s with their streaming and create playlists. But did you have to buy the mp3s from iTunes?

You see, I haven't tried creating new Apple Music playlists or subscribed to their streaming since they debuted in 2015. Back then, you couldn't make playlists, mix with non-streaming mp3s or even sort music by artist/ genre/album/ date/ title at all! They launched WAY before they were ready to compete with Spotify.

[quote] I'm glad to hear that Apple finally copied Spotify to allow you to mix independent mp3s with their streaming and create playlists. But did you have to buy the mp3s from iTunes?

What?

Obviously, I have my own CD and digital copies of NO EXIT, but I feel that the album version of "Screaming Skin" is integral for my Spotify playlist of the April 1999 Gap In-Store Playlist to be complete. The song was brand new then and so fresh! I want the playlists to sound as closely to how they sounded in the store as possible.

That's why it bugs me that "Screaming Skin" is not available on Spotify and I have to substitute an inferior live version.

I make the playlists on Spotify for OTHERS to listen to. I don't listen to streaming music myself. I listen to digital playlists of music I've bought, ripped, and downloaded on my computer, iPod, car.

The April 1999 Gap In-Store Playlist even begins with the NO EXIT album version of "Maria," which is available on Spotify, but my favorite, "Screaming Skin," is not.

oof....NO ONE rang for the Gapalina troll.

[R33], why would you want an iPod with only 3 hours of battery life when your phone has more room for songs and a longer battery? Why do you want to schlepp around two devices? Why carry your "carefully organized mp3s" around when streaming gives you practically every song in the world mixed with your own mp3s however you like? Is it just the ads or subscription fee you're trying to avoid?

Well, I don't want an ipod with three hours of battery life, which is why I just bought an ipod Touch. But here is where I use my ipod to listen to music- When I'm on the treadmill, when I'm on the exercise bike, when I go for walks, and when I travel (and I tend to walk a lot when I travel). I would prefer not to use my phone to listen to music because I don't want to wear down the battery on it. It's not such a big deal when I'm home, but when I'm traveling, it's usually for work, so I'm using my phone a lot, and many times using it as a hotspot, which eats battery. I just want to keep them separate. I'm not sure what you mean by the ads or subscription fee. I mentioned that I get Apple Music for free through Verizon because I have an unlimited data plan. I usually use that in the car at home, because I can stream it through my car's stereo on Apple Play (which enabled me to get rid of Sirius XM) and I'll use it if I'm sitting at my laptop (though really, YouTube is much easier to use if I'm in the mood to hear something).

As far as shlepping two devices, it's really not a bother, as I almost always have a backpack or shoulder bag with me in the instances I'm using my ipod out, so my phone goes in my bag. I totally get why others would like to have it all in one, but it works for me the way I consume music.

All that ranting and raving, R34, and you still didn't answer my question. But I sure hope you feel better now.

R33/R61 Try a PC. They're made for people with no technical savvy.

Ignoring R62, who is such an asshole that he went on a rant at me without even understanding my question, I'll ask again-

Are you guys saying that if I incorporate my owned tracks into Apple Music (as opposed to iTunes) on my new ipod Touch that they (Apple Music) could replace some of them with live or alt versions? Because I would like to use my Apple Music membership on my Touch, but I would also like to keep my large library of owned tracks exactly what they are. If so, then I will not trigger my subscription on my ipod Touch.

Thanks

I don't know for sure because I'm the Mostly Spotify user.

But I strongly doubt the Apple Music app would delete your owned mp3s. What I and others have experienced is Apple Music not automatically including every song from my original iTunes playlists because of missing or improper Digital Rights, duplicate names for different versions of the same song or expired/no license to stream the preferred version of a song.

All your owned mp3s should still be on your hard drives and devices in iTunes Library folders, etc. It's simply a matter of the Apple Music app not being willing or able to read every mp3. Your mp3s should all transfer to any new devices when you do an iTunes update or data transfer. You may just have to manually re-add some of the songs to Apple Music that got glitched out.

You should Google your question, I'm sure the answer is on the web. Or you can just attempt to transfer your old iPod or iTunes backup to your new iPod device.

You can do that by first saving all your mp3s to an external drive or server as a backup first, which iTunes can do from your desktop with a backup. Or simply don't wipe your old device until you're certain your new devices have everything you want.

Thanks, R64. I should have mentioned that in between my first and second posts I did google it, and (as usual), the Apple forums are all over the place. Some people swear Apple Music erased some of their rare tracks, others said no.

It seems odd that this would happen, but Apple IS odd. I rarely have trouble with their products, but my boss has had everything go wrong that can go wrong, and I'm usually the one who has to scramble to figure out how to fix it.

But yes, I'll keep my music on my desktop for now, but copy it and move it over to my laptop for this new ipod Touch.

Ugh. I just encountered this today. I wanted to listen to "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne and it was a listless re-recording. I was disappointed, to say the least.