
Spotify, An Alternative to Music Piracy - raju
http://torrentfreak.com/spotify-an-alternative-to-music-piracy-090102/
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ned
Spotify is really well done : the client is lightweight, launches fast, is
responsive, when you double click a track to play it starts playing instantly
(it really feels like the file stored locally), and the catalog is impressive
(although about 1/3 of the stuff I listen to isn't in there yet).

Here in France they have a competitor that is already very entrenched :
deezer.com. If you go a party at someones' place, you will ALWAYS see a laptop
in a corner with Deezer playing stuff. People walk up, search for what they
want to hear, and it plays. Simple. Of course, Spotify is miles ahead of
Deezer in terms of technology and user experience. So I hope they don't get
squashed by the virality of Deezer.

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danw
I've noticed deezer is always used at parties too. Every time I introduce
people to spotify they switch sides however.

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beza1e1
I don't get it. How does the music industry make money through spotify? Can
spotify users copy the music to their iPod? Unless there is a good answer to
those two questions, i can't imagine spotify as a wide-spread alternative to
piracy.

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allertonm
To answer your first question, the app is either paid ($9.99/mo sub) or comes
with ads.

As for the second, well... I've heard that they make iPods now that can
connect directly to the internets. Syncing music across a wire is _so_ 2001.

More seriously, I imagine that the whole "copy to iPod" thing is such a
minefield (especially with the music industry involved) that they have no
intention of going there and are betting on a disruptive shift towards music
players that are connected (almost) everywhere - with the iPod Touch and
iPhone being the first examples of that. I would be deeply surprised if they
didn't have an Cocoa Touch client (along the lines of Pandora and last.fm) in
the works.

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netcan
_$9.99/mo sub) or comes with ads_

Sounds like a concession.

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ktharavaad
Nice application, but to compete with piracy:

( Ads || $9.99_a_month ) > (free && higher quality) = false

Granted their app might be easier to use compared to searching the piratebay,
downloading and playing (disclaimer: not that I'm saying I do that.) , but you
can't put the music in your ipod, you can't use it if you are offline.

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iamdave
I really appreciate the trouble they went through to make sure even Linux
users could benefit but not only posting instructions for wine, but also how
to get URI recognition just like you would on Windows or OS X.

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EastSmith
In a year I think I installed just two desktop applications: Spotify and
DropBox. So I guess desktop is not dead yet :)

I am using Spotify for 3 months now and think it is great service and fast
one. I don't remember any buffering issues and I consider myself a heavy user:
using it both at work and at home (now).

Some of the artists are not available though. And at least 20% of my selected
tracks disappeared after 2 weeks usage, think some licensing issues got
involved.

Waiting for Windows Mobile or Symbian client and I am into the buying a new
phone market :)

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paul9290
I was hoping this was all thru their web site and not a client install.

I no longer install apps onto my system as chat/voice available via gmail,
lastfm/pandora(others) for music, hulu/joost for tv and play games various
sites. This is just my personal preference and I hope this spotify offers a
web based solution. Id download a FF plug-in.

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zaius
What's the difference between installing software and installing a firefox
plugin?

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ktharavaad
Generally, i'm less weary about installing a plugin because I know there are
certain limits to things that plugins can do compared to what an application
can do to my System.

On windows, things you install also puts crap into your registry and many
leave a lasting trace on your computers and slows it down over time. This
happens to a lesser extent with browser plugins.

Generally, with a plugin, when you turn off your browser , the application
cease to exist and take up system resources. Many applications however,
continue to run in the background.

I use the "Generally" to describe these scenarios because there are definitely
exceptions to the norms, but its how I perceive plugins vs downloaded apps.

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voidfiles
This is awesome. If you use a proxy server in the UK, you can fool it. It will
allow you to sign-up with a UK postal code.

I hope this doesn't die. I am having so much fun listening to all the music.

I haven't been able to stump it yet. Anyone have a good test artist.
Mainstream enough that it had a record, or album.

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andr
I would pay $9.99 just to use this instead of iTunes. The interface is
brilliantly well thought out and amazingly fast! Now if only I could take this
to my car...

Edit: Looking at their jobs section, it appears that a Symbian version is in
the works.

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kajecounterhack
Not a download service. Downloading pirates will continue to pirate. Uhgh.

Though its streaming service is definitely a way to win over pirates who only
want to stream.

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JBiserkov
I love the way it integrates with my Logitech Keyboard Multimedia keys. And
it's very fast, even though I'm in South-East Europe.

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misuba
Does Spotify let you do anything with songs besides listen to them? Put them
into mixes, perhaps? Integrate with the web?

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voidfiles
Yea it allows you to create playlists, and then link to them. So another
person with spotify can open them.

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chops
In the comments to the article, the outright lack of respect for property
rights and the constant childlike reference to the "MAFIAA" is absolutely
appalling.

Though spotify does sound like a neat service.

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Radix
Why? There position might be silly, but what's wrong with the idea of the RIAA
companies dying? I hope it happens. I don't like it when I read a billboard
article that showcases an executive who is proud of the pussycat dolls, and
some rappers he's backing, and an article about Kate Perry. I guess "I kissed
a girl" is catchy, might fit well in a party. But damn it, why doesn't Zooey
Deschanel get any airtime? She's much cuter and I like her music better. Well,
"she's not mainstream enough". Perhaps, but I hope, and don't believe, that
the population is as homogeneous the industry seems to think. If the business
model of the major labels fails then perhaps the new boss will be a more
decentralized organization, where music is passed around based on social
networks by people instead of pushed into the network by large companies who
choose what is and isn't allowed to be popular, and perhaps artists can make
more, since less money is going to keep the business structure up and
distribution is cheap. This seems like a great service, I'm glad someone
implemented such a great idea. But, I still hope some of the major labels die.
...I wish it was available in the US.

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chops
I can fully respect someone who simply doesn't wish to support an organization
they don't like by not purchasing their items. One, however, is not morally
justified in then simply taking the items they are otherwise unwilling to pay
for.

The artists voluntarily agree to release their music through the RIAA. If you
don't like the RIAA, but you like their music, you don't have a <i>right</i>
to their music by virtue of the fact that you simply <i>want</i> it.

This my beef with the comments. Regardless of the legality of it,
redistributing an artists' work without their approval.

Piracy is wrong, whether it's software or music. But a site like
"TorrentFreak" is certainly going to be crawling with people who have
absolutely no respect for property rights.

A service like Spotify (with agreements with the record companies) is offering
the music in a free-as-in-beer streaming service, which, although they're not
MP3s, they are still free music in a much more highly customized format than
radio broadcast (and even web listening services like last.fm), and that's a
sign that the RIAA is at least willing to support modern services.

But the pirates on TorrentFreak remain vehemently opposed to the free music on
Spotify simply because they took the legal route of <i>working with the
content producers</i>.

This is why I am appalled (though not terriby surprised) by the comments on
the article.

------
est
Not available in your country yet

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sireat
Seems like Spotify has the same problem as Pandora. I do wonder if one was to
purchase a Premium Account one could get the streams...

