77 WABC vs Play Dead
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
77 WABC
Access live and on-demand news talk radio content. This free application offers an easy-to-use interface for listening to your favorite shows.
- Live radio streaming
- On-demand content
- Easy to use interface
- Free to download
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Download the official 77 WABC app, it’s easy to use and always FREE!
Play Dead
Access a vast library of officially remastered live Grateful Dead concert recordings. Discover previously unreleased shows every week, including rare CD-only releases now available in high-resolution audio. Listen across your devices with seamless playback.
- Official Grateful Dead live recordings
- Hi-res remastered audio
- Exclusive 'Dead Drops' weekly
- CD-only releases now streaming
- Vault organized by year
- Cross-device listening
- Apple CarPlay support
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Play Dead is the official Grateful Dead streaming app, offering unprecedented hi-res access to the Grateful Dead Vault of live recordings. For the first time, the band’s live legacy is brought together in a single official streaming service, with newly transferred and mastered recordings from the original sources. Previously unreleased shows - called Dead Drops - will be available every Tuesday, augmenting the catalog of official live Grateful Dead releases, many of which have never been available on any streaming service. The Vault Unlocked Exclusive Hi-Res Recordings Access new high resolution transfers, mastered for the first time and available exclusively on Play Dead. Dead Drops Every Tuesday Previously unreleased recordings added, every Tuesday, curated by Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux, mastered for the first time by David Glasser. CD-Only Releases, Now Streaming Shows previously available only on CD from box sets and Dave’s Picks are now streaming for the first time -only on Play Dead- in higher-than-CD-quality. The Vault by Year Live recordings are presented in order of performance date for the first time in the band’s history. Play Dead brings together three decades of live recordings into a single, evolving app designed for both longtime Dead Heads and those who just got on the bus. Listen Anywhere Listen and resume listening across devices, including Apple CarPlay. Subscription Subscriptions available starting at $9.99/month or $99.99/year. Official Access to the Grateful Dead Vault Created for Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment, longtime stewards of the Grateful Dead catalog. Built by nugs, the leading platform for live music. For nugs Subscribers Play Dead is also available as an add-on to nugs. PlayDead Payment and Auto-Renewal Terms: Play Dead offers auto-renewing monthly and annual subscriptions to stream music from the Play Dead catalog. Two subscription types are available, monthly (30 days) and annual (365 days). All subscriptions auto-renew. A Play Dead monthly subscription is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for new users. Plans auto-renew at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year after the first year. Payment will be charged to the iTunes Account at the time of your purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the users Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use at http://nugs.net/terms.aspx Privacy Policy at http://nugs.net/privacy.aspx
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Play Dead at 4.3 against 77 WABC's 3.5. Play Dead also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 25%) and chart position (#143 vs unranked). 77 WABC's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Play Dead sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. 77 WABC asks for nothing beyond the download.
Play Dead holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 232 and 93 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of 77 WABC's written reviews are positive against 64% of Play Dead's.
77 WABC ships an update every 2 months, Play Dead every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | 77 WABC | Play Dead |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (232 ratings) | 4.3 (93 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.3% of reviews | 64.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 232 — better | 93 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #143 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 67 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Red Apple Media, Inc. | nugs.net enterprises, LLC |
Customer experience
77 WABC
Play Dead
Bugs and requests
77 WABC
Reported bugs
18 issues- App crashes on startup or during playback
- Live stream cuts off randomly
- Audio loops and repeats 45 seconds to 1 minute continuously
- App stops working when phone goes to sleep
- Background activity kills battery life
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- Connection drops in weak signal areas
- App won't open or gets stuck on 'retrieving latest content'
- Podcast download causes app crash
- Screen rotation broken on iPad
- Excessive heat generation
- Ads play out of order or during broadcasts
- Streaming performance poor with 10-120 second delay
- App only works when in foreground
- Incompatible with iOS 12 and earlier versions
- Alarm feature has audio control issues
- Podcasts don't update without force quit
- Polls don't load in app
- Cannot create account with password
Requested features
11 requests- Fix background streaming capability
- Implement pause and rewind buffering for live streams
- Add playback speed controls for podcasts
- Improve podcast organization and display
- Reduce or eliminate ads, or offer paid ad-free tier
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- Better CarPlay integration and stability
- Improve UI design with larger buttons and less wasted space
- Remove forced login requirements
- Add app status page to check system availability
- Implement proper ad scheduling to avoid overlap with content
- Better iOS compatibility for older devices
Play Dead
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
77 WABC
No in-app purchases
Play Dead
- Monthly$9.991 Month
- Yearly$99.991 Year









