Peel: MP3 blog collector
Peel is an attractively simple program whose primary function is to keep an eye on your favourite MP3 blogs (scroll to the end of this post for an explanation, in case you’re unfamiliar with them). As you can see from the above screenshot, it’s adopted iTunes’ look and feel wholesale. When Peel finds new MP3s posted on any of your bookmarked blogs (saved in the left-hand pane), it lists them on the right. You can choose to play the songs and, optionally, download to your hard drive and import them into iTunes. A nice touch is that Peel provides browser functionality so that you can read MP3 blogs within the program itself:
And that’s about it. You’re reliant upon the tagging efficiency of the blog author - I found quite a few tracks to be lacking in any artist details and, perhaps more importantly, Peel doesn’t give you a lot of guidance on where to find good MP3 blogs past the couple that are already listed. However, a bit of Googling turns a number up.
Recommendation: Useful if you’re both a Mac user (no sign of a PC version) and an MP3 blog enthusiast. As previously stated, it’s currently in beta so is a free download, though the site states that it will be $14.95 when finished. However, when the combined player/browser Songbird (PC, Mac and Linux) has progressed further on its development route it will surely eclipse Peel. Until then, Peel is well worth a try.
Background: MP3 blogs are a relatively recent development. Author/s writing about their favourite music on their blog also post an MP3 in illustration. Typically, the MP3 is posted for a limited period - say a week - together with an invitation to third parties to get in touch if their availability is problematic and a link to a vendor to purchase the CD. Bloggers keen to write about musicians tend to cover less well-known ones, therefore in theory, they serve to promote the artist under discussion without impacting upon sales. This post on the 45RPM blog serves as ample illustration of the two sides of the debate. Examples of popular MP3 blogs include: Poptones, Fluxblog and 20 Jazz Funk Greats.
Download: Peel website
