Review by: Jevgenijs Cernihovics
www.indatext.com
Russian copyright agency ROMS licenses became a popular reason for easy entry to
online music business.
MP3 Ninja music service at www.mp3ninja.com is a good fresh example. Its
collection is not that vast, but selection is quite interesting. Majority of
releases magically appears on mp3ninja the same day, and some albums even a day
before the official release.
Catalogue
Files and catalogue MP3 Ninja music collection grows fast, at approximate
speed of 150 albums a day.
You can easily find all contemporary artists and pretty rarities here. All songs
are in MP3 format, most of them are VBR, but a lot of compositions encoded at
196 kbps rate.
Price
All artists, all labels, no DRM, unlimited mp3 files burning - all these
things are great pluses of this promising online music service. There are
minuses as well. MP3 Ninja charges $ 4.99 per album, on average. You can buy
single songs for $0.49. This price tag places the new service in-between of its
competitors - cheap allofmp3.com and Western giant iTunes.com.
There are no serious troubles in user experience at MP3 Ninja. Download speed is
good, songs selection is easy and intuitive. You can start downloads after
filling your account from credit card by $5, $10, $20, $30 or $50. There is no
free trial.
A couple of interface bugs persist, however. The first one is placing search results under the for of advanced search. The second - you cannot download the whole album in a single archive. For big albums it take 25 clicks to empty the basket full of ordered songs.
Legality
Legality of Russian online music services is questionable in the US, but not in Russia. MP3 Ninja operates completely officially. The company located in the former Russian capital city of St Petersburg. It is called Digital Goods Ltd. Using this services from outside Russia could be legal as well. More information can be found on this page.
Pros
- Low pricing nice and well-ordered collection;
- fresh music news and gossip on the front page;
- free lyrics for almost every song;
- obtainable price;
- no DRM;
- no burning limitations;
- very good sound quality.
Cons
- MP3 only;
- No download manager.
Conclusion
I believe this service competes by good selection of music and very fast addition of new releases. The price is obtainable, but it is higher than other Russian services charge. Free lyrics and fresh news is a very nice option. User registration allows to participate on MP3 Ninja forum with same login and take some support. You should better use some free download manager with MP3 Ninja. Happy music downloads!
Jevgenijs Cernihovics www.indatext.com