allmusic.com

[Random Citizen]

Allmusic responds to user feedback:
 
 

Dear allmusic fans-
 
 As you�??re aware, we�??ve recently relaunched the allmusic site with expanded content and functionality and a whole new look. It is an ambitious undertaking and one that hasn�??t gone off without some snags. We are working hard to fix the problems and ask for your patience while we work through this transition period.
 
 We�??ve been on the net since 1995 providing a free music reference resource. We would hope that through our ten years of service we�??ve earned a little patience from our users as we work through the transition to the new site and some of the difficulties we�??re experiencing. We�??re a small company with small company resources. While we�??re flattered by our users�?? expectations, our resources are limited. We�??re a small company from Ann Arbor, MI, trying to provide a great resource for music fans.
 
 While we can�??t respond to every piece of feedback we receive, we do read every bit of it. Feedback from our users is very important. We appreciate the time you take to share your thoughts with us. The following are some updates on the site and some responses to your comments.
 
 
 SLOW RESPONSE TIMES
 We are experiencing some response time delays as we did not anticipate the more than doubling of our traffic with the relaunch. We are working to add servers to handle the capacity and to get all of our servers properly balanced. This site is bigger and more complex than the old site. The speed difference won't be very noticeable once we get everything in peak form.
 
 
 SUPPORT OF NON-IE FOR WINDOWS BROWSERS
 Optimizing a site of allmusic�??s complexity and size for all browsers and operating systems is no small feat. This isn�??t a simple �??brochure-ware�?� site of static pages. While we would love to optimize the AMG sites for all browsers and all operating systems, we simply don�??t have the necessary resources to do so. Despite some users flattering comparison of our site with that of Google, Amazon and Yahoo!, we are a small company with limited resources. So, we had to pick the most widely used browser by our users (over 87%) to optimize the site for and then work on compatibility issues with the other major browsers as we go forward.
 
 We are concentrating on making the site more accessible through Opera, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. We know how important it is to our users and we�??re moving quickly.
 
 
 REGISTRATION
 The allmusic site remains totally FREE to our users and only requires registration for access to new Premium Content. If you are uncomfortable registering, we understand and invite you to continue to use the portion of the site (roughly equivalent to the former site) that does not require registration. But we would like to take a moment to explain why we have introduced registration for Premium Content.
 
 The AMG websites are FREE sites that are marginally supported by only advertising and product sales. To attract advertisers and retailers, we need to provide them with basic demographic information of our users so they can determine if our site is a fit for their products. We provide this information only in the aggregate (i.e. 60% of our users are male) and never pass on any individual user information. Please read our privacy policy for more information. Without these advertisers and retailers, the AMG websites would be out of business. Registration is a common practice among free publishing sites such as the AMG sites (i.e. NY Times, LA Times, etc.) that fund their enterprise through advertising and product sales. AMG is in line with common Internet practices and, as a good Internet citizen, zealously protects the privacy of our users.
 
 
 TAB FORMAT
 We realized when we designed the tab system that we would make some folks unhappy, but we felt the trade off was worth it. If we stuck to the one page approach it would limit our ability to add additional information. That design approach (one page) just doesn't scale as we expand content. And it's a real problem with artists with extensive discographies. We think that once folks take some more time on the site, they'll see that there is much more information available now than there was on the old site. The addition of the Songs and Credits tabs are both good examples of information that just wouldn�??t be possible in a one page format.
 
 Thanks for all your feedback. Together, we can make our service better than ever.
 

They're in cahoots with Barns & No-Bull, so they were forced to modernize.
 
 The old site looked like shit.

[Random Citizen]

Originally posted by Visual AIDS:
  The old site looked like shit.

I didn't visit the site for its looks. I visited it because it was a quick and easy way to find information on a band, album or song.

[chaz]

Originally posted by Visual AIDS:
 
 
 The old site looked like shit.

I'll agree.  The old site was very useful and I had figured out how to make it work for me, but I thought it was pretty clunky.

[Medusa]

Originally posted by Random Citizen:
 I didn't visit the site for its looks. I visited it because it was a quick and easy way to find information on a band, album or song.

This is *exactly* how I feel.  Now it just takes so long to look up a song (hell, I still can't look up a song because the site still will not let me log in, even though I registered).  
 
 It's the time factor that definitely does it for me.  I know they are trying to go for something better, but ... the old site *functioned* better even though it didn't look as slick/nice.
 
 Cheers
 
 DJ Medusa.

[Bags]

I'm still beside myself over this IE format shit.  They reference other advertiser sponsored sites, all of which are fully accessible and functional from Mac-supported web browsers.
 
 I don't mind registering for useful sites, though.  It's still free, and if they get back up to speed (literally), the browser problem will be my only complaint.  But it is a BIG one.

[grotty]

Allmusic was easily my favorite site on the web. I've always marvelled that I could access all that info for free.
 
 As long as they work out these bugs - I think I'll still be happy.
 
 Then again - it is their site - & it still is free. I guess they can do what they want. But of all the things in my life that I could think of that needed fixin'...

Allmovie.com still has the old, tacky look.

[slappy]

Works fine on my Mac with Safari?