Rhapsody

 Review

Common Sense Media says

On-demand service provides unlimited listening, for a price.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this site doesn't incorporate a large social-networking component. Though you can share playlists with friends, the service lacks other networking features like blogs and pairings with similar users. Parents should also remain aware that users can access explicit versions of songs.


What's it about?

RHAPSODY is the on-demand music service from Real Networks that lets you listen to music of your choice right on the spot. With an unlimited subscription of $13 per month, you can "rent" just about any song, album, or artist under the sun -- provided it's in the Rhapsody catalog, which it probably is since the service has licensed the vast majority of music out there. You can't download and save copies of songs, though you can listen to them as many times as you like and manipulate them in several ways, including making them into playlists that are stored in your Rhapsody account and creating custom channels that rotate music from dozens of different artists you choose. While Rhapsody does less hand-holding than sites like Pandora, which is built around the concept of suggesting music its listeners might like, the service still provides its own pre-made, theme-based channels that users can choose.


Is it any good?

 

If Pandora is Music 101, Rhapsody is Advanced Music -- which audiophiles who know their tastes will absolutely love. Using the service will be addictive for these music afficionados who won't be able to stop the flood of songs they want to hear. The service also offers other perks, such as artist bios and album reviews from All Music Guide, that speak to its audience's characteristic desire to dig deeper into music. On the flip side, those who know less about music may feel a bit overwhelmed by Rhapsody, since it's largely user-driven; these people may want to start with a free service like Pandora, which does most of the choosing.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can peruse our tips on Music and Your Kids for ideas on how to encourage kids to listen to music constructively and responsibly.


This review was written by Stephanie Bruzzese
Parent of 7, 9, and 15 year old
June 11, 2009
 
my ex loved it
i like it

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
September 1, 2010
 
This is a site where you can download some nice clean Christian music, download devilish Death/Black Metal and Rap, and everything in between. If you have kids, I recommend having them check the lyrics before downloading songs.

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 14 year old
September 27, 2009
 
Works for Teens not for younger
Hears the deal: I've been using Rhapsody for about 8 years now. The web review by Common Sense is not completely on the mark...It is spot on if you only include the music/videos from the download Rhapsody Player. However, should you and your household find your way to Rhapsody*, you'll note it is a whole different world! Mind you, Common Sense is correct about this not being a social-networking platform, but at the online site you will find: a blog, videos, and photos, not least of which can be very racy! I think this is fine (under parent supervision) for a teen, but note that this is more than just music!

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Stephanie Bruzzese
Genre:Music

This review was written by Stephanie Bruzzese

Contact us to give us more feedback on our learning ratings.

 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Tell us what you think about our new Learning Ratings. We value your feedback.


About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you visit Rhapsody?


Already visited it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it