Spotify brings record labels to the digital age (spotify.com)

Member Name: Sunrisesunset

Product:	spotify.com
Date:	27/08/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Back button like in browsers, record labels' backing, big catalogue, free, short adverts

Disadvantages: radio is lacking, some adverts play too much

I used to be a big fan of Deezer, a free music website based in France, but suddenly Itunes links appeared and 70% of my music couldn't be played. There was no point in staring at song titles I could not play, and I do not buy albums without hearing them first, so I decided to part ways. The great Pandora service is restricted to the US, Grooveshark buffers far too much to enjoy, and Last fm lets you play each song a certain amount of times... I had to look elsewhere.

A quick search on Google brought up Spotify. At first I decided against it because you have to download a Spotify player onto your computer, meanwhile Deezer plays through their website. Finally I decided to give it a try and installed the player onto my laptop.

I wish I'd done it sooner.

Unlike some illegal free music websites, Spotify is able to satisfy listeners and labels by providing free music with adverts. No price tag is for listeners, meanwhile the advert revenue feeds record labels. This means you will find many of your favourite songs on here, minus BIG stars like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc. I'm not a fan of artists like them so that doesn't bother me. So far only some new artists, who received very little backing from their labels, are not on Spotify. Everyone else I looked for, even major stars like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Beyonce, Britney Spears, etc, are here. Sometimes there is a song on an album you cannot play, but use the search function and you'll probably find another album with the same song that let's you play it. For example, Michael Jackson's Thriller might not work on the Thriller album, but plays on his Greatest Hits.

Spotify allows you to create playlists of your favourite songs. For example, I have separate playlists for slow and mid-tempo songs, soundtracks, and dance tracks. You could even create a playlist for one artist just by adding all of their albums to it. It's easy to drag songs into a different order or playlist, plus deleting them only involves selecting them and pressing Delete on your keyboard. You can share your playlists online, so if you want your friend to hear a hot new song then you can send it over Facebook/Twitter or any other websites you use.

The best thing about Spotify is that it's FREE, but don't worry about it suddenly shutting down because it can't afford to support itself. The adverts generate money, record labels advertise their artists, and subscribers increase the cash flow too. You can buy one day without adverts for 99p, which would be great for parties. All you'd have to do is buy the day pass, organise your party playlist and enjoy yourself. No changing CDs, no DJ taking a break, no adverts interrupting, plus practically all song requests can be fulfilled because Spotify's song library is so big. You can also buy a month pass, so no adverts for an entire month- all for £9.99.

Short biographies are also displayed when you search for an artist's music, so you can find their songs and more about their background at the same time. There are also album reviews to read, for those who don't want to listen through an entire record before buying/listening.

Spotify has teamed up with Seven music, who also advertise on Spotify. I have not downloaded any music at this time, so I cannot comment on the process. However, besides Seven's occasional advert there is no other push to buy the music.

As I said before, I can't use Grooveshark because the songs buffer. This means the website needs to download more of the song to continue playing, meanwhile I'm sitting there waiting...and waiting...Not with Spotify. When you press play the song plays, and you can jump to any part of the song and it will play. No waiting necessary.

With the good comes the bad...

Just two nitpicky things and a problem.

Nitpick one is that some adverts repeat a tad too much, but after a two weeks to a month the adverts are changed. Still, each advert is only one minute, which isn't bad at all after listening to a couple of songs in a row. From time to time Spotify plays two adverts in a row.

Nitpick two is that on rare occasions Spotify suddenly stops and I need to restart. This has only started happening recently, but I just close and open Spotify and continue listening.

The problem with Spotify is the radio. I like that you can choose decades and genres, but it seems like older artists always get played, even when I select the 00s era. Also, the radio doesn't base what it plays on the songs I've added to my playlists, so I find myself skipping most of the time. This pushes me back to my playlists, so if you're prepared to stick to your playlist all/most of the time then Spotify is for you.

I wish I could give Spotify 4.5/5, but 4 will have to do. The radio is the only downer for me, but other than that there's nothing else that Spotify needs to change. I highly recommend this free music service.

Summary: Besides a poor radio, Spotify is perfect for the digital age of free listening and legal downloads