Spotify: awesome little music app thingy, free !

[cybertect]

Do you use it on your mobile?

Cos if not, just defect to Grooveshark like I have.

How much difference it will make I don't know, but Grooveshark are being sued by a bunch of composers as of this week.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-2...hers-file-copyright-suit-against-grooveshark/

 

[skyscraper101]

I've suddenly got a bunch more invites in my account and I'm being encouraged to invite my 'US friends' to use Spotify

 

[imposs1904]

I think spotify just launched in the US this week, as they sent me an email a few days back.

 

[skyscraper101]

It did, and its awesome, so get on it! $4.99 a month for an ad-free, instant access to a massive collection of almost all recognised recorded artists, except for a few notable exceptions (Beatles, Floyd, Led Zep, AC/DC) is still very worth it.

 

[skyscraper101]

Interesting. I never noticed before but Spotify has just asked if I wanted to sync my phone via the desktop player which it detected through the shared wifi. I thought you could only sync your phone via the phone interface. That is a lot more user friendly.

 

[skyscraper101]

Spotify have just launches some community forums:

http://community.spotify.com/

I'm concerned Spotify itself has been a bit sluggish lately. I'm not sure if the apps are slowing it down a bit or maybe the social networking features. I just hope it doesn't get bloated in the way iTunes did.

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

Not been too bad here (other side of the planet however), they released here in DK back in November after sorting out the legal stuff with the music unions, so I signed up straight awayv for premium. It's great to have at work, but also on the phone meaning I don't have to use alot of space on my phones for mp3s.

Has anyone tried the extreme streaming? I stream high quality on the phone but dont want to completely rinse my monthly 10gig limit.

 

[skyscraper101]

Now available in Ireland, and Luxembourg.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/13/sp...-quietly-adding-ireland-and-luxembourg-today/

 

[editor]

Funny how it's gone from some random techie name to virtually a household name already.

 

[skyscraper101]

It's definitely a good thing. I can barely remember the last time I had to acquire an album through not entirely kosher means. I realise the artist payout isn't all that amazing, but the company has to be allowed to grow to a point where they can pay better royalties. And this should happen - there is a pay structure which will kick in once they turn a profit which seeks to pay labels (and vis-a-vis artists) with bigger payouts.

More here: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.c...-the-money-and-then-send-it-off-in-royalties/

 

[skyscraper101]

The KLF back catalogue is now on there:

http://www.nme.com/news/klf/68226

 

[skyscraper101]

The KLF back catalogue is now on there:

http://www.nme.com/news/klf/68226

Well it was good while it lasted. Checked again today and the albums are gone.

http://www.gigwise.com/news/78938/bootlegged-klf-albums-removed-from-itunes-and-spotify

 

[skyscraper101]

I was just having a play about with the browser based version. It looks a lot nicer than it was when it started.

Unfortunately the buffering time takes forever if you want to jump to particular moments in a track, which I do a lot so it wastes a lot of time and gets annoying. Shame because its great in every other respect.

 

[ska invita]

It's definitely a good thing. I can barely remember the last time I had to acquire an album through not entirely kosher means. I realise the artist payout isn't all that amazing, but the company has to be allowed to grow to a point where they can pay better royalties. And this should happen - there is a pay structure which will kick in once they turn a profit which seeks to pay labels (and vis-a-vis artists) with bigger payouts.

More here: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.c...-the-money-and-then-send-it-off-in-royalties/

maybe i missread that but it seemed to say they were hoping record companies would get even less money.

It’s possible that Spotify’s licensing costs could go down in the future, as record labels monitor its progress; they could decide to make changes to ensure that Spotify thrives and can keep sending over its royalty checks. For the moment, however, Spotify’s investors are shouldering its losses, and music is still expensive.

Spotify is good for users but rubbish for musicians - im surprised the record industry has backed it on the whole

 

[ska invita]

in fact I think it suggests that Spotify is a business model thats in trouble

With artists and labels hit hard by declining sales over the last decade, it’s hard [FOR SPOTIFY] to argue for lower royalty rates. But the graveyard of failed digital services, and the financial struggles of Pandora and Spotify show that the music industry hasn’t yet figured out the balance between licensing costs and how much money a digital service can make.

 

[editor]

I mentioned it elsewhere, but Spotify becomes a much better proposition if you use the web browser interface. I think you only get all the suggestion wizardry if you're on a paid subscription, but it makes the offering much, much more compelling.

I'm discovering new acts every day now, and they're not all shite either.

 

[skyscraper101]

ska invita

I can't remember what post's they were in response to but my current overall position is Spotify is great for the end user and designed to increase payouts to artists once it hits a certain point in its profitability. Whilst it not be as lucrative as physical CD sales or download to own/iTunes, it is arguably a better alternative to piracy.

Also as major stakeholders in Spotify, the record industry is looking after itself before its artists. Artists don't have much choice in the matter once they've signed the deal.

 

[ska invita]

sorry, my fault for not being clear (its late) - refering to the article you linked to

It's definitely a good thing. I can barely remember the last time I had to acquire an album through not entirely kosher means. I realise the artist payout isn't all that amazing, but the company has to be allowed to grow to a point where they can pay better royalties. And this should happen - there is a pay structure which will kick in once they turn a profit which seeks to pay labels (and vis-a-vis artists) with bigger payouts.

More here: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.c...-the-money-and-then-send-it-off-in-royalties/

 

[joustmaster]

Whilst it not be as lucrative as physical CD sales or download to own/iTunes, it is arguably a better alternative to piracy.

Having not really paid for any music in nearly 15 years, i have been using a paid subscription to Spotify for the last 6 months. It feels expensive. And its annoying when I can't find albums on there. But I haven't cancelled it yet.

 

[ska invita]

Whilst it not be as lucrative as physical CD sales or download to own/iTunes, it is arguably a better alternative to piracy.

basically no difference i reckon, apart from that its easier to use spotify than download illegally.

Also as major stakeholders in Spotify, the record industry is looking after itself before its artists. Artists don't have much choice in the matter once they've signed the deal.

i see - all the more reason im surprised the Industry is into it. I guess its a few more pennies for them, but things have changed over the last 5 years - piracy isnt the issue it used to be and plenty of people are buying mp3s now. I wonder if the Industry wont tire of Spotify...perhaps a case of enjoy it while it lasts...

 

[skyscraper101]

basically no difference i reckon, apart from that its easier to use spotify than download illegally.

i see - all the more reason im surprised the Industry is into it. I guess its a few more pennies for them, but things have changed over the last 5 years - piracy isnt the issue it used to be and plenty of people are buying mp3s now. I wonder if the Industry wont tire of Spotify...perhaps a case of enjoy it while it lasts...

It's definitely turning a profit now and as the majors are all stakeholders they're undoubtedly getting a fair whack of cash which they otherwise wouldn't be. My theory is that the more it grows, the better position the labels are in to demand favourable terms. If they were to stifle it too soon they could be doing themselves out of a much better long term deal.

There's an article somewhere I'm sure I've linked to in the past which suggests Spotify already pays better royalties per stream than a daytime radio 1 airplay does based on audience reached.

Basically though, all the money these days is in the live sector unless you're one of the few people like Adele or Daft Punk and you're getting your physical albums shifted by supermarkets.

 

[skyscraper101]

I mentioned it elsewhere, but Spotify becomes a much better proposition if you use the web browser interface. I think you only get all the suggestion wizardry if you're on a paid subscription, but it makes the offering much, much more compelling.

I'm discovering new acts every day now, and they're not all shite either.

The only gripe I have with it is the buffering speed in the browser version. I can't instantly flick to track points without a 3-5 second delay. In the app, its near instantaneous. No problem if you want to stick an album on and sit back, but I skip around a lot and can't do with waiting 5 seconds for a track to buffer if I want to put it at a certain point.

 

[editor]

Have to say it's instant for me.

 

[skyscraper101]

Pink Floyd's entire back catalogue is coming!

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/14/...utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

Well, at least after a rather obvious PR stunt to stream 'Wish You Were Here' a million times that is. Good news for fans anyway. They were one of the big few holding out along with the Zep and Beatles, and the KLF (barrig a brief moment where their whole catalogue was available).