Spotify... Yes or No?

Signed up last year and I'm very happy with the service. I have downloaded lots of music but find my primary utilization is to stream music from one of the suggested playlists through my smartphone and earphones when out for my daily walk. Just open the app and hit whatever I'm in the mood for and I'm good to go. I believe the service uses an algorithm to determine your preferred music types and structures it's playlists accordingly. You can certainly use the search function though for any artist or music type you desire.

The other issue is Spotify has just gone public and raised multi billions. I believe they have the largest customer base and over time i think they are poised to supplant itunes. Of course the bigger they get the bigger they get.

For what I get from the service the flat monthly fee of $10 off my credit card is really worth it.

Google Play is far superior to Spotify

Does Spotify work on Apple products?

Spotify isn't making any money, the profits they make goes to paying the copyright artists. Unlike Netflix, they are not generating original content and the market is fickle. In order to make money, Spotify must be an advertising hog - is that true?

I have all the tunes I need on my phone - would never pay to listen to music

Insidious Von said:

Spotify isn't making any money, the profits they make goes to paying the copyright artists. Unlike Netflix, they are not generating original content and the market is fickle. In order to make money, Spotify must be an advertising hog - is that true?

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https://nordic.businessinsider.com/spotify-just-revealed-its-lastest-hyper-growth-numbers--/

lol
Spotify makes mad money
And pays the artists shit
Well documented

Maybe it's because I'm not a big enough music fan, but I don't see the point of paying $10/mth to stream music when there's tons of free radio channels with themes or hit lists all over the net.

Occasionally said:

Maybe it's because I'm not a big enough music fan, but I don't see the point of paying $10/mth to stream music when there's tons of free radio channels with themes or hit lists all over the net.

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Even worse when you can stream your own songs for free
And by your own songs we all mean any song you downloaded the MP3 off the web

I love Spotify. I play it all the time and discover music I wouldn't otherwise have. The cost is nominal for the joy it bring IMO.

Love Spotify! I started collecting records when I was in grade 6, Records were about $5-$10/ album as I recall. I bought my last turntable in the eighties, just as CDs came out, I liked the clean sharp sound of cds, there was no going back. (Remember putting a penny in the stylus to keep your favourite song from skipping? Cleaning your albums with distilled water and then using an anti-static gun to cut the the crackles?) When digital music started becoming the norm, I adapted but I lost the excitement. I'm really not sure why Spotify has rekindled it, maybe because they make it so easy and painless to listen to all music anywhere. The variety is amazing and the sound quality is awesome. The family membership makes it fun to share music with my kids.

TeeJay said:

https://nordic.businessinsider.com/spotify-just-revealed-its-lastest-hyper-growth-numbers--/

lol
Spotify makes mad money
And pays the artists shit
Well documented

Click to expand...

That link confirms what Insidious Von posted. Spotify is operating at a loss in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It makes a huge amount of revenue but it hasn't made any profit. All the money goes to paying royalties.

TeeJay said:

lol
Spotify makes mad money
And pays the artists shit
Well documented

Click to expand...

That's what I'm trying to figure out. Artists have become more aggressive in getting their royalties and the labels want their cut. You can't get away with paying artists shit anymore. Classic example is the show WKRP in Cincinnati, rather than pay copyright fees CBS took the show out of syndication.

And why would I pay for a streaming service when I have literally thousands of options for every genre of music for free?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-06/digital-music-streaming-rising-but-spotify-losing-money/8875188

ummm Spotify is free, as long as you're willing to put-up with 30 sec ads once every 30 minutes.
If you chose to purchase a subscription, the ads are gone plus you have an off-line option.

In terms of music selection, it's reasonable though the back-catalogue is incomplete for many of the artists.

SirWanker said:

ummm Spotify is free, as long as you're willing to put-up with 30 sec ads once every 30 minutes.

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Easy to block the ads
Don't even need root

GameBoy27 said:

What are your free "options?"

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I don't use my cell for music, can't wear headphones or ear pieces (tinnitus), a can get everything I want on YT and it usually comes with a cool video. I subscribe to live feeds for my home theater.

Does Spotify have this? Talk about a Supergroup: Frank Zappa, Jack Bruce and Jim Gordon.

GameBoy27 said:

After doing a little more digging, Apple Music seems to fit my needs better. Some of my favourite artists can also be found on Apple whereas not on Spotify.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/music/apple-music-vs-spotify/



What are your free "options?"



How did you get all the tunes on your phone?

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Be careful with Apple Music. Eg: I had a very extensive library of music (in iTunes) which I ripped from CD's which I own - this was done over years and even had some LP's which I had digitized (which weren't available on CD or in iTunes). With Apple Music (a good deal if you have a family and a lot of Apple devices) there is an option to keep your music in the cloud. IF you choose this - what happens is that Apple will arbitrarily replace songs in YOUR library with an equivalent version in the Apple Music Library. For me, this meant that many artist's music has been replaced by what Apple Music thinks is an equivalent. So some studio track may be replaced by eg: a live version of the same song. OR a rare track will be replaced by a newer track - sometimes by a different artist. And in some cases the track has been replaced by something that is completely wrong. Worse - all of the Apple Music has DRM. So if you have an older device - you will no longer be able to copy the Apple Music version of the track. So for example: I have an old iPod classic in my car which I just keep in the glovebox where the cable is located. But NOW, some of my playlists are incomplete because the older iPods can't download DRM protected music.

The worst part is that you cannot recover your tracks (except from a physical backup you may have made). So I have lost some rare tracks from CD's or Albums that I no longer can access. This is a known problem and if you google, you'll see many with the same issue. I'm surprised that Apple hasn't faced a class action suit over this - since they basically take over your entire music library. (note: I believe this only happens if you choose to keep a copy of all your music in the cloud - so be very careful before you choose this option as there is no warning about what happens).