SPOTIFY. Started in 2008, the company became public to UK. Instantly people started to convert from iTunes to this new music client. In July, Spotify finally released itself in the US. However, how strong is the program? Let’s check it out.
The Setup
Spotify is a client/program that can be downloaded to any computer and even connected to cellphones. Once you create an account you can access your music at any computer or smartphone with the app. As long as the music you pick is under their 15million song list, with 15,000 songs added daily supposedly, then this should cover most individuals. With the program you can access three tiered accounts.
The account plans
The most limited of the 3, this free account allows you to use the Spotify program for 6 months. However, you are limited to the hour usage, and after the 6 months you can only play an individual track 5 times before it is locked out. With the free account, you lose the ability in the Unlimited and Premium versions. The Premium plan is $9.99 a month, and the Unlimited plan is $4.99 a month. However, this is way more effective than buying albums or singles. If you constantly buy albums or singles, this is a great alternative. Please check and read the specifics of the plans at this link.
With the Premium plan, you can wirelessly sync your playlists to your phone. Thats right, any smart phone that can download the app can be integrated with your library. With the Premium plan you can even access your playlists “offline” mode where you have no internet or ability to use your 3G/4G/Data plan. This can become very handy on the beach etc.
Is it the iTunes killer? My Experience
Spotify is unique. First concern is “Do I have to abandon my iTunes?” False. Spotify seamlessly integrates all the iTunes into Spotify, in a bout 5 seconds. To me this was crucial since I have over 50,000 songs. Even better, Spotify recognized all my playlists. So far so good. Then I realized I could connect my Spotify client to Facebook. Instantly, all my friends who have Spotify appeared on the right column, listened alphabetically. I could then see their playlists, their top artists and even subscribe to their local playlists. Thats right, if you’ve always had a friend who had the best party mix, you can now stream it at your leisure. Awesome. Then I created a new playlist and I shared it. I then had the option of even posting it to Facebook, Windows Messenger, to a specific Spotify client, and even Twitter. Awesome +2. I have a best friend who I constantly bounce back and forth new songs with. It’s a hassle to link youtube videos on Facebook etc. Guess what! You can literally SEND a track to a friend on Spotify! Even with a message! And on top of that, you can create collaborative playlists with an individual. You each can add and delete songs at will. Basically, they took iTunes and fused it with the social media aspect of Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Grooveshark and Last.fm. It’s a powerful program and worth it. So my friend sent me a new artist, I can click on the artist, see their whole available discography along with tracks the artist is featured on, similar artists, their biography, and a radio station created based on that musician. This program seems to have no limit! Or does it?
Downsides?
There are a couple downsides to the program. The “search” function can become iffy where tracks can be listed but need to be a file you personally own. Some files won’t be selectable, and if you find the song through the search client it will fix it by retagging and correcting it. Your profile picture is connected directly to Facebook and same with all your friends. The only confusing bit to the program is the differentiating part of “local files” and “library”. I still can’t figure it out exactly what the difference is. However, I’ve been enjoying the crazy overall ability of this program.
How Do You Get It?
There are various ways to get it. On the U.S. launch I got my invite from Trent Reznor’s twitter account. Many musicians give out invitations. The website for Spofity also has a mailing list. If you sign up for an Unlimited or Premium plan you automatically get an account. Follow me on twitter here or find my handle @BLahoud as I tend to get new invites every month. Feel free to search on Google as well since some places give them out for free such as Klout.com . Comment below on any questions, concerns or comments. Remember, many questions can be answered from reading the website.
