If you’ve (for some reason) been following this blog a while, you’d know that I’m a big fan of Xiami, the Mainland China-based music site that has never flashed me with a “this content is not available in your region” message. I’ve actually bought some tracks off of them, started way before iTunes became available in my country, and have continued with tracks that aren’t available in my iTunes store, or with overpriced albums/singles.
It’s particularly useful for Chinese-based artists.
In general, all tracks are priced at 0.8米 (Mi) and 1 Mi is 1 Yuan, which is about 0.16USD, which is like 1/10 of what iTunes charges. They accept Paypal as one of their paying options, which seems way simpler than paying with your credit card (I tried). And since Xiami is a community-based site, they give you points for activities. Every time you log in, you get points and once you log in for a whole uninterrupted week, they give you a red envelope which also serves to download tracks. If you log in every day for a month or a whole year, you’ll get even more for free downloads.
Downloading tracks, adding albums, adding information (photos, lyrics, etc), participating in community discussions, and joining groups also gives you points to raise your Xiami level. Though, I still don’t know what’s that for, other than showing off and user respectability.
ANYWAY – after Pandora and Spotify have made its splash on the net in a subscription-based system… even though I stopped using Pandora after it blocked my usage, basically kicking me out of their system… and Spotify has never allowed me in. Xiami is joining them.
This is their thing:
Regular (free) members
- Stream quality: Regular
- Offline stream quality: Regular
- App capacity offline: 30 tracks
- Free downloads: None
Monthly VIP members
- Stream quality: High
- Offline stream quality: High
- App capacity offline: No Limit
- Free downloads: 100/Month
- Price: 15 Yuan/Month ($2.45USD)
Yearly VIP members
- Stream quality: High
- Offline stream quality: High
- App capacity offline: No Limit
- Free downloads: 1500/Year
- Price: 120 Yuan/Year ($19.57USD)
I don’t even think I download 1500 MP3s a year. I’m considering signing up. They even let you use your current Mi to pay for the subscription, so you don’t lose your money if you want to upgrade from your current account. The 120 Yuan you spend on the Yearly subscription which allows your 1500 Free downloads is basically what you spend by buying 150 songs.
