Spotify Accepting Signups for US Launch

[Winni]

Cool... Now I get it... the term "stream" made it sound like a live connection was needed all the time.

That's because that is what streaming actually means - you do NOT have a local copy when you listen to or watch a stream. Streaming technologies were not designed to provide offline content - their purpose is to PREVENT offline content.

When these services now also offer downloads that can be used offline, than this is an additional service that has nothing to do with streaming.

 

[Vertigo50]

Thanks to MR, I now know what hitherto means.

Seriously, wtf lol Why would you use that word how many people know what it means without looking it up?

Um, I think you'll find that people who read books on a regular basis will probably know what that word means.

Besides, looking up new words is how you learn. Would you prefer all writers stick to a 4th grade reading level so we never have to look something up?

 

[Reason077]

I want to be able to own (i.e. take with me anywhere - away from the internet) music I like. So even though a streaming service may be nice for variety, I need something that allows me to step away from the internet.

What am I missing????

You're missing the fact that Spotify, in the paid version, does allow you to sync (download) your playlists and "take (music) with (you) anywhere - away from the internet".

 

[Reason077]

How does this compare to the torrent + iTunes Match model?

As far as usability goes, very well. In fact its often faster and easier to search for and play something in Spotify than it is to find something in your own iTunes library.

 

[steadysignal]

Hope it doesn't go the way of the adware pandora.

Radio has fewer ads than Pandora now.

+1

ads suck.

 

[Portaluk]

Ok, if you guys are getting Spotify, please can we have Hulu?

... and netflix, lovefilm is terrible when it comes to streaming.

 

[Popeye206]

I gotta say, it's a very nice service and I think they have a really good business model. You can't compare it to Pandora, it's more like if iTunes for streaming, and the UI is much less bloated.

I'm excited about whether they can break into the US market.

I keep hearing complaints about iTunes being bloated.

To make a side comment here... I think iTunes is gone in the fall. With wireless syncing coming to the iDevices, I think the music part of iTunes will become iMusic (or iTunes that is just music again) and there will be something separate for managing your iDevices in the iCloud.

Makes sense when you think of iPhoto, Newstand, iBooks, App Store, ect.... an app for each type of content and then something to glue it all together via iCloud.

Bloat gone.

 

[deadkennedy]

The service is great but the app is terribly designed. No grouping, no sorting, no filtering by anything. You think you could sort the playlists alphabetically? Forget about it.

It is really like having a great gourmet meal, but served in a mail box and you have to eat it with a shoe.

 

[neccoloup]

interesting announcement but this post reads too much like an advertisement, especially considering iTunes match isn't even out yet

 

[karlwig]

It is quite a bit more expensive than iTunes Match will be, costing €60-€120/year in Europe, versus $25/year for iTunes Match.

Wouldn't a more fair comparasion be the monthly price for iTunes Match plus the price you pay monthly to buy CD's / iTunes songs?

This is apples and oranges: You cannot compare a service like Spotify where you pay montly to "own" (though just stream) every song in their library, against iTunes match which is more for syncing and doesn't include any music you didn't already buy (unless you pirate of course).

 

[winston1236]

Maybe I don't get it.... streaming music could be nice, but I can get basically free music of my choice from my direct TV, or from 1000 other internet radio stations out there.

I want to be able to own (i.e. take with me anywhere - away from the internet) music I like. So even though a streaming service may be nice for variety, I need something that allows me to step away from the internet.

What am I missing????

well the first thing i would say you're missing is that with these services you dont have to carry around a sat dish haha

 

[Consultant]

With this service, you're basically renting songs, just like Netflix, you don't get to keep any songs after unsubscribing.

Exactly, especially when the service dies in a few years, all the money people paid will be gone.

Didn't this already happened about a decade ago with subscription services vs. iTunes?

 

[rembert]

After having used the free Spotify Open intensively for a week now (and occasionally before) I just signedup for Spotify Premium: 7 days free, and now extended to 30 days. That's a nice deal. (BTW I'm in Europe)

I had already found new bands and singer-songwriters via Spotify which I'd never found any other way. Yes, I'll use the iCloud solution and have my MP3 stuff upgraded for that $25 price. But that's my collection and doesn't really invite me to listen to new stuff.

I did like Pandora in the past and Spotify is just better. Even while driving home today, I could continue listening to my Spotify playlist while driving, just by using my iPhone and 3G. Downloading songs so I can listen to them while offline works as a charm as well. Spotify is just easy to use, at first it may look a bit like "where's the music" but as soon as you've found some, you'll keep finding huge numbers of songs you never heared of.

But, I'm not sure if it will be worth the 10 euro per month. Anyway, I have 30 days to decide.

 

[MarkNY]

I wonder how much of the $25 per year for iTunes Match is going to the record labels? I remember a few years ago there was a rumor of a flat fee option of a few hundred dollars being floated by Apple to the record companies that would give the user complete rights to all audio on in iTMS, and would be bundled into the price of new iPhones. That seems a better deal to the record labels than iTunes Match. Seems to me iTunes Match is going to increase piracy. Steal it first, then launder it through iTunes Match. Spotify makes more sense to me from the point of view of the labels.

 

[Daveoc64]

Exactly, especially when the service dies in a few years, all the money people paid will be gone.

But that should have no impact on you - you aren't investing money in something for the long term, you're only paying for a month at a time.

 

[fabian9]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Maybe I don't get it.... streaming music could be nice, but I can get basically free music of my choice from my direct TV, or from 1000 other internet radio stations out there.

I want to be able to own (i.e. take with me anywhere - away from the internet) music I like. So even though a streaming service may be nice for variety, I need something that allows me to step away from the internet.

What am I missing????

You're missing the fact that spotify supports offline playlists. I.e. if there is an album you like, add it to a playlist and make it available offline - it'll then download all the songs on that playlist for you to enjoy when you're away from the Internet!

 

[iBookG4user]

Thanks to MR, I now know what hitherto means.

Seriously, wtf lol Why would you use that word how many people know what it means without looking it up?

You didn't know what it meant and couldn't figure it out from the context it was used?

Expand your vocabulary a bit!

In regards to the article, this is awesome news, I can't wait to start listening to songs on Spotify

 

[ratzzo]

I love Spotify. I hope this change doesn't worsen or reduce its current quality. Ads are just fine the way they are now in the European version.

Also, when I travel abroad (ie US) my account does not work claiming US is not available for Spotify use... so I wonder if I can keep using it with my current account outside Europe and not have to make another one for US use.

 

[weckart]

Ya I use Grooveshark and quite like, and was wondering how different Groveshark is from Spotify?

Grooveshark is slow, Spotify damn near instantaneous. Grooveshark uses flash for its interface and sets the fans on my white Macbook screeching.

 

[MartinAW]

The service is great but the app is terribly designed. No grouping, no sorting, no filtering by anything. You think you could sort the playlists alphabetically? Forget about it.

It is really like having a great gourmet meal, but served in a mail box and you have to eat it with a shoe.

There's definitely room for improvement, but it isn't that bad

You can group playlists and sort them manually, just drag. You can sort your music and cmd+f brings up a filter option. Id like to see some extra features in there to take it to the next level, but whats there is pretty good.

 

[Shannighan]

How does this service compare to rhapsody? I currently subscribe to rhapsody, but if there is some significant advantage I might make the switch

 

[BitterMelon]

The service is great but the app is terribly designed. No grouping,

Grouping as in not playlists? Sub-playlists? What is it you want to group?

no sorting,

Right... only by title, artist, album, length of the song, when it was added to the playlist, who added it and explicit ordering. ;-)

no filtering by anything.

Cmd+f gives you a search filter within a playlist. For everything else there is the normal search box for the entire library.

You think you could sort the playlists alphabetically? Forget about it.

Tried clicking the labels above the list?

 

[BitterMelon]

Used the free service last year to see if it was worth the monthly fee, and deleted it within 2 days! way to many announcements most of them repetitive and annoying.

Wow, you turned down the service on the basis of an annoying "feature" that isn't even present in the paid version? Impressive...

 

[Rantipole]

There are free subscriptions limited by hours of listening time, and then paid subscriptions that offer features such as offline mode, the ability to download songs to iPods and more. Subscription fees range from €5 to €10 per month.

Why is Spotify news? Napster and MOG already offer this.

EDIT: BTW, MOG is better than Napster, and probably better than Spotify.

 

[ksgant]

Thanks to MR, I now know what hitherto means.

Seriously, wtf lol Why would you use that word how many people know what it means without looking it up?

big words make head all hurty. i am with you. after grade 4 no need to learn words. words are bad.