# Spotify?



## doyama (Jul 14, 2011)

So Spotify is in the USA now I guess? Seems to have been a Euro only thing for awhile but now us Yanks can apparently get in on the action.

So how is this different than Pandora?


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## Hakoda (Jul 14, 2011)

This would grab more attention in the Books, Music, TV & Movies section. Mod move it, por favor?

Anyway, that's a very interesting question. When you compare the free version of Spotify with Pandora they don't seem all that different. However I've never used either of them extensively so I really wouldn't know. 

Spotify sounds like something really really cool. I just wish I didn't have to pay $10 to get it running on my iPod Touch. I wouldn't mind if there were ads in the app as well if they could link it with my free account (which I don't actually have an invite to yet). 

And to clarify, Spotify is basically a service in which you pay a down payment ever month (there's also the free version with ads) and you basically own all of the music in the industry. Sorta. You have the ability to stream and listen to any song, anytime. You never actually have the individual file on your computer unless you pay for offline listening. Am I right so far?

This sounds like the amazing alternative to iTunes and Amazon Music; there's no cloud storage because everyone gets access to the same streaming server. 

Anyone have an invite yet? I've requested but I'm still waiting.

EDIT: We don't get unlimited streaming with the free version? How many songs do we get, what's the limit? UK users help out here?


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## doyama (Jul 14, 2011)

Hehe I keep forgetting we have that section. Probably best if this as moved there but no biggie.

I guess I was just looking for some objective reviews about it. I'm waiting for an invite too. Not sure if it's worth the 5-10 a month tho.


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## Hakoda (Jul 14, 2011)

It sounds an awful lot like Napster. 

Also they really should add more features to the Unlimited plan. I would at least add the ability to stream from the internet on a mobile device.

EDIT: So apparently the free version is limited to 20 hours of listening.


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## Serina (Jul 14, 2011)

I'm rocking out with Grooveshark, personally. I've been a long-time user of it and I actually managed to lock in a $3 a month price for life for listening over the net, on any smartphone (jailbroken iPhone currently) and for 'offline listening' on that iPhone. I'm pretty much set, so (though I've heard that Spotify is the absolute shizzle) I'm not all that interested.

(Grooveshark is about $9 a month for the general public now, I think)


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## xist (Jul 15, 2011)

Hakoda said:
			
		

> EDIT: We don't get unlimited streaming with the free version? How many songs do we get, what's the limit? UK users help out here?
> 
> According to the UK Help -
> 
> ...


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## doyama (Jul 15, 2011)

10 hours a month? That's pretty limiting considering I leave Pandora on constantly at work.


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## Slyakin (Jul 15, 2011)

So... what are the benefits of this...

Over torrents?


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## Terminator02 (Jul 15, 2011)

Slyakin said:
			
		

> So... what are the benefits of this...
> 
> Over torrents?


legality, streaming over mobile


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## doyama (Jul 15, 2011)

So apparently you get 20 hours of free music with the normal version.... Not sure if that's per month or what. It's just what my counter says.

I guess it might be useful to search for new music here... then just put the artist in Pandora to actually listen to stuff? I'm somewhat not seeing the value considering Spotify coming to the US was being hyped as the second coming of Jesus right after the Rapture.


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## evandixon (Jul 15, 2011)

Seems like an inferior version of Zune Pass or Rhapsody.


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## Hakoda (Jul 15, 2011)

UniqueGeek said:
			
		

> Seems like an inferior version of Zune Pass or Rhapsody.


It's more like Napster because with Zune Pass & Rhapsody you actually own digital copies of the song, don't you? With Napster & Spotify, you can only stream and thus you never are in ownership of the content.


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## Serina (Jul 15, 2011)

doyama said:
			
		

> 10 hours a month? That's pretty limiting considering I leave Pandora on constantly at work.



Isn't pandora like 20 hours a month? or was it 40?


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## purplesludge (Jul 15, 2011)

Serina said:
			
		

> doyama said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Pandora is 40 and spotify doesn't seem that special. Streaming over mobile can be done by google music.


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## Technik (Jul 15, 2011)

It's legal, theres no 10 hr limit in america, and they have pretty much any song you can throw at them thats not the beatles.


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## doyama (Jul 16, 2011)

Technik said:
			
		

> It's legal, theres no 10 hr limit in america, and they have pretty much any song you can throw at them thats not the beatles.



It's not 10 hours but it appears to be 20 hours. At least according to the counter at the top of the Spotify application I'm running.


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