Spotify in the U.S. Here’s How it Works
Spotify is finally landing in the U.S.! But with all the available music-streaming services(i.e. iTunes, Pandora, Napster, Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music etc.), do we really need another one? Of course! You can’t have too much of anything. Plus, the added competition gives you a wide range to choose from. So you may ask, what makes Spotify different from all the others?
This music service was originally launched in Sweden by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon as a legal alternative to music piracy. It already has 10 million users in Europe, with 1.6 million of those as paying customers. The service holds millions of songs that are all available for customers whether you are a Free, Unlimited or Premium subscriber.
So if it has a ‘Free’ version, why do you have to pay for the service? Here’s the catch: the free service is available by invite only, plus it has ads. But if you can’t wait for an invite, you can try the Unlimited option, which is $4.99/ month, or the Premium service, which is $9.99/month. So what’s the deal with the two paid subscriptions? The Unlimited is ad-free but only for the computer, while the Premium, aside from being ad-free, you can enjoy listening to music whether online or offline, via any of your devices aside from having access to exclusive contents and promos.
And if you haven’t heard of Spotify yet, or have heard of it but don’t know how it works, here’s an overview.
- Gives you on-demand access to millions of songs
- Easy and very manageable way of creating a playlist
- Easy ‘drag and drop’ action to share via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, or SMS
- And is accessible via your smartphone and even on iPod touch
“We’re launching in partnership with some of the biggest and most pioneering brands in the world, who all want to help us spread the good word of Spotify,” says Ek on the company blog. “Our exclusive launch partners are Coca-Cola and Sprite, Chevrolet, Motorola, Reebok and Sonos. These brands will be launching innovative campaigns in partnership with Spotify in the coming weeks and months.”
With all the piracy issues of today, Spotify is trumping music pirates as music labels are signing contracts with Spotify for legal purposes. Spotify is not just a service that you can forget after some time. The frequency of you use will become an addiction, especially when you learn to appreciate how it works for your listening pleasure.
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