1. I prefer albums to singles. A lot of the greatest music requires context and doesn't work well shuffled into a bunch of singles. For example I can't imagine listening to a track off "Rossz Csillag Alatt Született" by Venetien snares straight after a track from "Dark side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd . It would just clash too much.
2. I prefer CD quality. I'm far from an audiophile and am extremely skeptical about the merits of high-end equipment, but even with my setup I can definitely appreciate the better quality sound I get from a CD compared to an Mp3.
3. I love CD collections. One of the first things I do when I visit people's homes is browse their CD collection. I love seeing what kind of music people are into, what classics they might own, what guilty pleasures they have. :) I like the physical presence of a CD collection. It feels like I'm buying something real, rather than investing in some bits I'm going to lose next time my PC blue-screens (yeah yeah, I know I should back everything up).
4. It's not usually cost effective. How the hell can it be cheaper for play to deliver me a physical album that contains higher quality audio for cheaper than iTunes can deliver me the same album as MP3s?
But now I've stopped collecting CDs. Viva la revolution! Viva Spotify!
The easiest way to describe Spotify is to think of it as iTunes, but with someone else's music collection on. And that someone else happens to be one of the biggest collectors of music ever.
Before I continue take a moment to go and register and install it. Doesn't take long, it's a very small application, it's 100% legal and it's totally FREE. You'll then be able to click on the links I include in the rest of this entry. Linux users, you're not exempt, it runs fine under Wine.
The range of music is incredible. Here's just a random collection of artists on Spotify: Snow Patrol, Ash, Elvis, Pizzicato Five, Ben Folds Five, Chas & Dave, Flobots
Plenty of brand new stuff too: Bat for Lashes, Lily Allen, Ting Tings, Kanye West
You'll find most things on there unless you get uber-obscure, or are unlucky enough to hit one of the artists that have short-sightedly opted-out of Spotify e.g. Oasis.
Another thing I love is the way it brings music sharing back. Since the big file-sharing clampdown, people haven't been able to legally share their music experiences with other people using the Internet. Now we have Spotify playlists we can bring the fun back into sharing.
- Here's a collection of some of the best and most unusual covers I could find
- Here's a collection of uber happy music
- Here's the music we listened to at a party a few months ago
- Here's the Flobots latest album which I love to bits and think you should all check out
Spotify collaborative playlists are genius. They let you have a playlist within Spotify that anyone can listen to, & add songs to. It would be brilliant if everyone that reads this blog adds a song or two to that playlist (Feel free to also add a comment below about the song if you want!).
The sheer convenience and range of available music on Spotify far outweighs any of my grievances about digital music, I am a convert.
The Catch
There's always a catch, with Spotify it's that the money has to come from somewhere and unless you buy their premium subscription then it comes from adverts. But these adverts are so few and far between they really don't intefere too much. If you really want to get rid of them you can buy day or month passes. I've often spent a quid so I can use Spotify at a party without any interruptions.
Also the music isn't transferrable, so if you listen to music on the move using an iPod or mobile phone, Spotify isn't for you. Yet.
See also
If you're interested in listening to Spotify through your games console or media centre. See my article on streaming spotify to other devices.
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