The slow but steady abolition of DRM (Digital Rights Management) has all of a sudden made music download services much more appealing, while at the same time catalysing the release of a series of more dedicated clients such as the recently reviewed Easy MP3 Download.

As a quick refresh, that software allows you to browse hundreds of millions of tracks and download as many as you want during a subscription period, with a lifetime subscription available for $49.95. There was plenty on offer but the main issue we had was that most tracks were in low quality 64kbps format.

So how does the new Datz Music Lounge compare? Well, for starters it's a lot more expensive, costing £99.99 for a one-year subscription. You still get unlimited downloads during this time but thankfully these are far better quality, the majority being encoded at 192kbps which is about as high as most people would need.

In a similar way to Easy MP3 Download, Datz requires you to install a specific application and security measures on your computer; the latter comprising a USB dongle that must be inserted before you can browse and download tracks. The interface is rather basic and doesn't offer a great degree of control over searches and library browsing, with a simple text-based search, A to Z list and genre selection available to help you peruse the range of tunes available.

Of course the biggest question most users will have with this sort of software - and it's something that arguably even more important than music quality - is ‘how extensive is the library?' Well, Datz cites ‘millions' of tracks in comparison to Easy MP3 Download's ‘hundreds of millions', so right from the off it doesn't look like it'll be nearly as comprehensive.

After searching for a range of artists we were disappointed by the selection on offer. To cite some examples, we searched for Metallica, The Beatles, Prodigy, Pearl Jam, Matthew Good Band, The Rolling Stones and Oasis and across all of these bands found no more than what could be described as a handful of studio album tracks from what would be dozens of albums.

Admittedly some other artists, such as Smashing Pumpkins and Disturbed, did offer more of a selection - in some cases an entire album - but we couldn't find a single mainstream artist whose complete catalogue was available. There is a bit more on offer in terms of cover songs and live performances, but if you're paying this much for a service you'd expect far better.

Of course everyone has different tastes and some may find that the Datz Music Lounge has plenty to offer from their own favourite artists. The moral of the story then, is to check out what's available before you buy.

Luckily this is quite easy to do by logging onto the Datz Music Lounge website. Take particular care not to accidentally stumble across the Datz.com online store, as this is a separate music download service that actually does have an excellent collection of artists and albums.

Overall we felt that the Datz Music Lounge was a serious letdown in terms of the range of content on offer. True it offers great quality music, which is DRM-free and quick to download, but despite the 64kbps nature of Easy MP3 Download we'd say that product is a better value alternative with a far more extensive library.

Verdict
If you discover that the Datz Music Lounge has a lot of tracks on offer that appeal, and you can get enough value from it to outweigh the subscription fee, it's fairly easy to use and offers excellent quality, fast and unrestricted downloads. Unfortunately we don't think many people will fit this category, since the library on offer is limited. In this light, and in the face of rivals like Easy MP3 Download, it's not a product we can recommend.

Company: Datz

Tags: music download datz music lounge rolling stones smashing pumpkins pearl jam beatles prodigy digital rights management