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Spotify-Whats the catch???


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Old 14-10-2013, 13:06
biggebruv
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iv been told about spotify by someone but to me it sounds to good to be true

whats everyones thoughts here about spotify good? bad?

is there a hidden catch there has to be surely all those albums just streaming for free
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:16
scratchy23
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Nope, it's as incredible as it sounds. It's completely free.

Only problem is, if you have the free version, you have adverts in between songs, and you can only listen to one song 5 times in one month.

The premium Spotify is £10 a month (or £5 a month if you're a student).
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:28
DavetheSensible
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A free account is fine if you only want 10 hours a month (and that's split into 2.5 hours a week, although it does carry over if you don't use it, up to a maximum 10 hours).

An Unlimited account is fine as long as you're not looking for quality bit-rate (it's only 160kbps, which is fine for phones).

Otherwise you'll need to pay extra for a Premium account, which streams at 320kbps.
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:35
biggebruv
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ok interesting about the bitrate and only 5 listens for one song
iv heard the name a few times over the years but never bothered to go hunting for it so ill check it out later tonight if i like it i might try a month premium

do they get all the latest stuff as its released??
are the good with all the classic 80s,70s music or what about soundtracks do they be on there
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Old 14-10-2013, 13:54
scratchy23
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It's got LOADS on there, all sorts. Pretty much all new albums get added onto there on the day they're released, but some albums get left off. I guess it depends on the label/situation.

For example, Rihanna's entire back catalogue is on there, except for her latest album Unapologetic.
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Old 14-10-2013, 14:01
Glawster2002
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A free account is fine if you only want 10 hours a month (and that's split into 2.5 hours a week, although it does carry over if you don't use it, up to a maximum 10 hours).

An Unlimited account is fine as long as you're not looking for quality bit-rate (it's only 160kbps, which is fine for phones).

Otherwise you'll need to pay extra for a Premium account, which streams at 320kbps.
Most people wouldn't be able to tell any difference between music streamed at 160 kbit/s and 320 kbit/s, even on a pretty good system.

I usually use the free service teo or three times a month and so the 10 hour limit isn't a problem for me. I think it's a great way to discover and listen to new music.
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Old 14-10-2013, 14:11
chrisdebag
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The five songs at most rule has been changed for a few months now

You can listen as long as you want
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Old 14-10-2013, 14:25
Soundbox
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Can you download the songs or must you listen via streaming?
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Old 14-10-2013, 14:59
roddydogs
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You cant download, stream only. What company /artist would allow free downloads?
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Old 14-10-2013, 15:46
spaceygal
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I use Napster. £5 a month (unlike Spotify's £10) for unlimited streaming of just about anything. Before they got taken over by Rhapsody you'd get the addition of 5 free downloads a month, but they stopped that. But £5 is still worth it for unlimited streaming. Discovered tons of new artists through it and when I like an album or single I hear I'll then buy it on cd or mp3 download via Amazon, itunes or elsewhere.
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Old 14-10-2013, 15:59
DavetheSensible
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Can you download the songs or must you listen via streaming?
*voice from alleyway*
cough'Freecorder'ahem
or 'Adobe Audition' or 'CoolEdit' or ....
*sound of feet scarpering*
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:07
DavetheSensible
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Most people wouldn't be able to tell any difference between music streamed at 160 kbit/s and 320 kbit/s, even on a pretty good system.
*faints*
OK - for general use, granted. But not if you really want to hear the music at something approaching how it's supposed to be. Mind you if I was after absolute fidelity I'd ignore mp3 completely and go for something sounding like Pax Vobiscum or Oggy Oggy Oggy or whatever

For me the great delight in Spotify is the incredible back catalogue, especially of pre-1970s and niche genres that otherwise mean a slow trawl through YouTube. I've spent days with old Peter Sellers records, early 20s hillbilly music, obscure jazz stuff from the 30s, acoustic blues 'til it comes out my ears.
Priceless at any quality.
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:11
cy_bones
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Can you download the songs or must you listen via streaming?
I have a premium account which gives the ability to synchronise playlists so it is similar to downloading as I can play music offline in the spotify app (although I am not able to copy the file to another device or keep it so it is borrowing rather than buying).
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:15
tom_domutoa
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No one mentions the malware
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:17
TheTruth1983
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iv been told about spotify by someone but to me it sounds to good to be true

whats everyones thoughts here about spotify good? bad?

is there a hidden catch there has to be surely all those albums just streaming for free
The catch is, you have to rely on a third party for listening to music. It is a good service for checking out a new artist you come across but it is no substitute for buying (physical or download) the music and having an offline copy.
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:20
TheTruth1983
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You cant download, stream only. What company /artist would allow free downloads?
Some artists allow it on Bandcamp (which also has free streaming by the way).
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:27
Glawster2002
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*faints*
OK - for general use, granted. But not if you really want to hear the music at something approaching how it's supposed to be. Mind you if I was after absolute fidelity I'd ignore mp3 completely and go for something sounding like Pax Vobiscum or Oggy Oggy Oggy or whatever
However very few these days actually listen to music in the way you, or I for that matter, would. Hence why I said for most people the difference between the two bit rates is negligible

For me 160 kbit/s is ample enough "quality" for me to ascertain whether I like the album or a new artist to me, or not, if I do then I will purchase a physical copy to listen to "properly".

For me the great delight in Spotify is the incredible back catalogue, especially of pre-1970s and niche genres that otherwise mean a slow trawl through YouTube. I've spent days with old Peter Sellers records, early 20s hillbilly music, obscure jazz stuff from the 30s, acoustic blues 'til it comes out my ears.
Priceless at any quality.
100% agree.
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:41
Eric_Blob
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There is no catch. Nearly everybody is going to be streaming their music by the end of the decade imo.

You can't download the songs, but you can sync them, so you can listen to them offline (I think you can only do that if you pay the monthly fee).
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Old 14-10-2013, 16:59
Makson
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There is no catch. Nearly everybody is going to be streaming their music by the end of the decade imo.

You can't download the songs, but you can sync them, so you can listen to them offline (I think you can only do that if you pay the monthly fee).
That's correct as I'm on the 10 quid a month Spotify Premium package.
It's so worth for the offline option though so I can listen to my playlists any time I want.
The only minor issue I have is that new songs/albums are added to Spotify about a day after iTunes but it isn't too much of a big deal.
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Old 14-10-2013, 17:29
biggebruv
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ok so checked it out just discovered a song never heard of but im liking it.

it seems cool so far might just go for the 1month option as a trial

i listen to my music at home anyways so the offline thing should not effect me to much
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Old 14-10-2013, 17:42
kryskrys
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The only minor issue I have is that new songs/albums are added to Spotify about a day after iTunes but it isn't too much of a big deal.
I usually find everything I want is uploaded within a few minutes of release. It's just it takes a while to show up on the artist page sometimes, but if you search manually for a new album or single it's usually there straight away.
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Old 14-10-2013, 17:55
Smudged
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The catch is for the artists not the consumer .
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Old 14-10-2013, 18:09
Electra
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*voice from alleyway*
cough'Freecorder'ahem
or 'Adobe Audition' or 'CoolEdit' or ....
*sound of feet scarpering*
*sound of music industry dying because too many idiots think musicians should work for nothing*
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Old 14-10-2013, 18:30
TheTruth1983
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The catch is for the artists not the consumer .
The catch for the artist is temporary because let's not forget that it is a very new technology. The business model is not fully formed and I believe that as it develops, it will become a better deal for artists.

The catch for the consumer is permanent as they never 'own' what they are listening to. This is why download services are much better all round.
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Old 14-10-2013, 18:33
TheTruth1983
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*sound of music industry dying because too many idiots think musicians should work for nothing*
I don't see many people believing that at all. People just think that they can have no expectation of becoming stupidly rich as has been the case in the past.

Also, the music industry is dying because of it's own failure to adapt to changing markets but musicians, by and large, are able to make a living.
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