One of the first articles I ever wrote for Computers.net was back in 2005, and it was called Music Downloads Explained: Musicmatch, iTunes, or Napster? Since then, it’s been getting hits every day from Google and other search engines. The most popular queries are different takes on the same problem: “musicmatch will not open itunes problem” or “other MP3 won’t work on computer after iPOD software downloaded.” I figure it’s time to bring the issue out in the open again.
I recently documented my switch to iTunes from Musicmatch in my post entitled, Why I Switched to iTunes from Musicmatch 5 Years & 5,000 Songs Later. But one aspect of the migration that I failed to mention is that I did not uninstall Musicmatch. And it still works. In fact, both programs can be open at the same time with no problems. I’ve tried this on both my desktop and my laptop (one is Windows XP Home, the other XP Professional).
But that still doesn’t change the fact that people are dealing with this specific problem every day. Here is just a sample of some of the comments and/or emails I’ve received:
Roger:
“I just won an Ipod so I downloaded Itunes and installed. Now my Musicmatch program won’t run. I confirmed this on my home and office computer. Intalling Itunes breaks musicmatch … and that totally sucks because I like musicmatch.”
Greg:
“I’m a long time Musicmatch user. I also won an Ipod and I installed Itunes. Now Musicmatch won’t work. I’ve tried reinstalling, and uninstalling and then reinstalling Musicmatch – doesn’t matter – it still won’t work. This thread confirms my suspicions. Musicmatch’s technical support is not much help either. I’ve been an IT professional for over 20 years. This is a ballsy move by Apple. There is no doubt in my mind the Apple is deliberately disabling a competitor’s software on customer’s machines without properly warning them. I have other MP3 players. I want Musicmatch to work with my non-Itune downloads. Apple could very well design their software so that it would not disable Musicmatch. I’ve installed other music manager software and none has disabled any other software. This is my first encounter with Apple. It might be my last.”
Kathy:
“I also have had the same problem with the new Itunes program. My son bought the Ipod Video and it will not play without the new Itunes. When it is installed Music Match is disabled. If this is ever fixed I would greatly appreciate it if you could email me and let me know how to fix this.”
Again, I can’t seem to duplicate the problem and have only been able to find outdated articles on the subject, such as this article by PCWorld.com in 2003. So if anyone does have more information, please enlighten the rest of us. Otherwise, if you’re experiencing the iTunes vs. Musicmatch problem first hand, feel free to contact me or leave a comment. With more stories and more specifics, perhaps we can get to the bottom of this.
