Difference between revisions of "Spotify"
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There are three levels of Spotify access: Spotify Free, Unlimited and Premium<ref>http://www.spotify.com/us/get-spotify/overview/</ref>. Out of the 10 million Spotify users, approximately only 1 million are paying customers<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12676327</ref>. | There are three levels of Spotify access: Spotify Free, Unlimited and Premium<ref>http://www.spotify.com/us/get-spotify/overview/</ref>. Out of the 10 million Spotify users, approximately only 1 million are paying customers<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12676327</ref>. | ||
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| + | [[File:Spotify Free Open.jpg|600px|thumb|right|Comparison of Spotify Free and Spotify Open]] | ||
=== Spotify Free === | === Spotify Free === | ||
| − | The most basic version, allows users to listen to all Spotify tracks instantly (at 160 kbps), create and share playlists and play local files. For the first six months, users are allowed unlimited listening, however, are only offered 10 hours/month afterwards. Advertisements are played after every few songs. Users can share music through social networking sites or by sending links for friends. | + | The most basic version, allows users to listen to all Spotify tracks instantly (at 160 kbps), create and share playlists and play local files. For the first six months, users are allowed unlimited listening, however, are only offered 10 hours/month afterwards. Advertisements are played after every few songs. Users can share music through social networking sites or by sending links for friends. Spotify Open is a limited version of Spotify Free - it was in place for all interested users when Spotify was by invitation only. |
=== Spotify Unlimited === | === Spotify Unlimited === | ||
Revision as of 16:13, 6 December 2011
Spotify is an online music service that provides its users with streaming access to over 15 million songs for free. It was first launched in Stockholm, Sweden in October of 2008 and is now headquartered in the UK. Spotify was launched in the United States in July of 2011, partnering with Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, the Orchard and Merlin.
Contents
History
Spotify was founded in April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Marin Lorentzon in Stockholm, Sweden. The website was launched for public access on October 7th, 2008. At this time, select users were given free accounts and could invite a limited number of other users to also create accounts. These users were given Spotify Free accounts. The general public in the United Kingdom could open accounts, specified as Spotify Open accounts, without invitations beginning in February 2009. However, due to the unanticipated surge in new accounts, Spotify had to limit registration to by invitation only again. On April 14th, 2011, Spotify announced a change in the amount of music Spotify Open and Spotify Free users could stream. [1]. Spotify was not launched in the United Sates until July 14, 2011, and requires new users to sync their account with their Facebook account [2]. Spotify is also available on iPhones for mobile access.
Features
Playlists
Playlists are saved to the user's account and can be instantly accessed from any Spotify client. They can be shared with friends by emailing or instant messaging a link to the playlist. Upon following the link, the shared playlist is added to the user's library.
Mobile
Spotify can currently be accessed from a variety of mobile devices including any Apple product running iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows mobile. To use Spotify on a mobile device, there is a monthly fee of $9.99. There have been some complaints about the mobile app. Users cite problems with syncing their devices as well as the app frequently crashing.
Social Networking
Spotify has integrated social networking into their player, allowing users connected to Facebook to share playlists with their friends, and post favorite songs to the site. Through Facebook, two friends can collaborate and make a playlist and then share their playlist to other friends. With the music posts features, instant playback is available on Facebook. Posting favorite songs to Twitter is even possible.
Offline mode
Spotify can be accessed without an Internet connection using the Offline mode feature. This enables the user to choose specific playlists that sync to the computer or device allowing playback anywhere, including subways, airplanes, boats, and beaches. Songs and playlists are store in the computer's cache for later playback. The mobile client also has a "Force Offline" mode which immediately stops Spotify from using the Internet. This can be especially useful for preserving battery life and data usage[3].
Membership
There are three levels of Spotify access: Spotify Free, Unlimited and Premium[4]. Out of the 10 million Spotify users, approximately only 1 million are paying customers[5].
Spotify Free
The most basic version, allows users to listen to all Spotify tracks instantly (at 160 kbps), create and share playlists and play local files. For the first six months, users are allowed unlimited listening, however, are only offered 10 hours/month afterwards. Advertisements are played after every few songs. Users can share music through social networking sites or by sending links for friends. Spotify Open is a limited version of Spotify Free - it was in place for all interested users when Spotify was by invitation only.
Spotify Unlimited
Priced at $4.99/month, users have unlimited listening with no advertisements as you stream music. Users also have the ability to add their own tracks to the player.
Spotify Premium
Priced priced at $9.99/month, users have unlimited listening with no advertisements to a computer or mobile device. Users are also able to store songs and playlists in their computer's cache for use offline. Included in the Premium membership is exclusive content- access to pre-released albums and chances to win concert tickets. Also included in Premium is enhanced sound quality- audio streaming at 320 kbps.
Ethical Issues
It is no secret that there has been debate about the ethical rights of Spotify. Not just by major labels and signed artists, but indie artists, and consumers themselves. The ethical question at hand is how much compensation artists should receive for streaming their music through services like Spotify. Most experts would say that the question of “compensation” cannot be answered accurately because Spotify doesn’t pay artists directly. The publishers, copyright holders, and record labels get the money depending on terms of condition. Spotify is a legal service because they only stream music rather than allow it to be downloaded directly, however ethical issues still surround the streaming music and subscription services.
