Spotify finally hits the States -- thankfully
Monday, July 18, 2011 at 6:00 PM
Logan Molen

It seems like it was a few years ago that I first heard of Spotify, the streaming music service that was breathlessly taking Europe by storm at the time. The service only just arrived in the States in the last week, courtesy of labored negotiations with the four big American music labels. 

So the wait is over and Spotify is slowly handing out accounts to people who reserved spots, people willing to buy a subscription and move to the head of the line, and people who gain access through seats sponsored by major corporations. 

I've been playing with Spotify for a few days and have found it to be a joy, with a few exceptions. 

 Things I like:

Spotify's premium services actually are worth the money.Things I find lacking: 

 Things I don't know enough about:

All in all, Spotify is a service I can see taking off in the States. It's a much more useful music base than iTunes, and more powerful than stateside competitors like Last.fm, Pandora and Turntable.fm. Here's to discovering music, old and new. 

Update on Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 2:22 PM by Registered CommenterLogan Molen

"Soundcheck" lifts the hood on Spotfiy and debates the economics of music-streaming services -- wth a focus on benefits to musicians. 

And the bad news is while Spotify may be a listener's dream, musicians may earn well less than 1 cent per song streamed. Sigh. 

I'm one of those people who actually buy music I discover while first streaming, but I'll acknowledge that Spotify is so good I have instant access to more great songs than I'll ever have time to hear. 

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