Spotify Sign up

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Winnow
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Spotify Sign up

Post by Winnow »

Sign up for spotify before 8am EST tomorrow:

http://www.spotify.com/int/coming-to-the-us/

Launches tomorrow, invite only to begin with. Can get invite now if sign up.
Joe Brown —Spotify, the mythical streaming music service launches tomorrow, no later than 8AM eastern. There will be all sorts of free streaming goodness. But you need to get on the invite list NOW.

Check it out: Spotify will initially be invite-only, meaning that you will only be able to sign up for the service if you're on a special list. How do you get on the list? Go to their site RIGHT NOW and put your name down. Why the rush? Spotify.com will stop accepting email addresses tomorrow, and you'll only be able to get an invite "though [their] social media channels." Whatever that means.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Siji »

Huge nearly full client sized ads and audio ads way too often between songs.. Granted you can have a better personal selection of who to listen to, but unless the ads are toned down, pfft. Haven't found a reason to mess with it enough to see if there's a way to just have it play on its own randomly like Pandora instead of having to build your own playlists or choose the top50 or whatever it is.

Don't see the huge appeal personally.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Winnow »

I don't think the point is keeping the free service. It's a good way to see if you want to pay 9.99/month for the premium. You don't get something for nothing unless it's the newsgroups.

I'm still using the UK version so don't know if the ads are different on the US version but they aren't that bad. The far right column has ads and there's 10 second audio ads every few songs. If you click to another song before one ends, you don't get ads. The UK version has 20 hours of free music per month. For anyone that is a casual listener, that would be plenty to check out songs. I like the playlists. Very easy and the "related artists" option is cool as well. On the UK version at least (even while running through Astrill on a UK server, which I recommend as the best VPN service BTW) everything is instant. Search, playing songs, related artists, all pop or play right away. Very well organized service.

I don't see any legitimate service being better. (rdio, rhapsody, Slacker Radio, Pandora, Napster, , Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music)

Free with Ads

4.99 Unlimited with no Ads

9.99 Unlimited/Offline/Mobile

Seems reasonable to me. Spotify doesn't have all songs. As a free service for when I feel like searching for particular songs to listen to and then roam the related artists, it looks great. I've found myself adding songs to my playlists often while roaming around Spotify.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Winnow »

I used this method to transfer my UK Spotify to the US.

You can use it to create a new free account as well if you don't want to wait for an invite:

http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-get-sp ... an-invite/
This method involves accessing the UK site, where registrations are absolutely free, through a proxy, and then exploiting a loophole in Spotify’s registration system in order to bring the account over the US site. In all, these steps should take no longer than a few minutes.

Disclaimer: we’re posting these steps for educational purposes only. If you’d like to use Spotify, you should do it legally by obtaining an invite or by purchasing a paid subscription, which is now available. Users who attempt to game the system, by creating an illegitimate account and faking a British zip code, should accept the possible consequences of doing so.

Step 1: Create a UK account, if you don’t have one already. In order to do this, you’ll need to access the Spotify website using a UK-based proxy service, which you can obtain through a simple Google search (DaveProxy is a reliable one). Access Spotify.com through the proxy server and create an account just as you would if you were in the UK.

Note: in order to create a UK account, you’ll need a UK-based zip code, any zip code, which you can easily find through a Google search as well.

Step 2: Once you’re done creating your account, turn off the proxy and access the American Spotify website. You should pretend you’re signing up for a Premium account, by clicking on the sign up link, just don’t sign up afterwards: instead, look for a "log in" link in the sign up page (or click here) and log in using the UK account you’ve just created.

Step 3: Go back to Spotify’s main site, where you’ll see a "continue to Spotify" link at the top of the page: click on it. You’re now in, but you haven’t yet transferred your account to the US system: in order to do so, click on the link with your username, at the top right corner of the page, and select "Edit Profile". From there, change your country from "United Kingdom" to "United States" and change the fake zip code you’ve inserted earlier to your real one.

You’re now ready to use all of Spotify’s features, at least until the company finds this loophole and patches it. You may instead want to get a free account the legal way, by applying for an invite.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Siji »

I have a problem with paying for radio service when there's so much free (legally) stuff available. It's popular so there certainly must be a group of people it appeals to. Another audio client isn't something I need. Personally speaking only, I think Pandora is better by far. But then again the only time I'm not listening to MP3s is when I'm in the mood for something different (and preferably unknown) like Pandora's stations. Plus I don't have to install a spammy client where ads can't be blocked like they can in Pandora.

* also using UK version, haven't bothered with changing to US.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Winnow »

It's not a radio service. Pandora won't let you listen to individual songs as far as I know. Spotify, rdio, and Mog let you listen and playlist any song or album you want. Pandora is more like Slacker Radio.

Here's a comparison between the real contenders, Spotify, Rdio and Mog

http://t3kd.com/blog/2011/07/14/spotify-vs-mog-vs-rdio/

Looks like Mog has best quality 320kbps with 11million songs while Spotify has best App with 15 million songs. Rdio falls somewhere in between with 12 million songs.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Canelek »

Thing I didn't like about Pandora was that you could only skip a certain number of songs...or was that Slacker?

I'll give spotify a chance....or just get off my lazy ass and switch out some music on the car-iPod...sometimes that whole unlocking glovebox, removing iPod from harness and updating the fucking thing is just too much after work. :)
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Winnow »

I signed up for 14 day free trial for MOG

It's web UI is horrible but I'm finding songs on MOG that are missing on Spotify and the songs are 320kbps.

Couple song examples:

Image

Shakira: Hips Don't Lie (not avail on Spotify, found on MOG...pretty damn popular song even if you don't like it to not be on Spotify (im talking original song, not remixes)

Image

Heavy Metal Sound Track: Not on Spotify, is on MOG (original 1981 movie soundtrack)

I tried out MOGs iPhone app and that works great. I chose and album and downloaded it to my phone. Happened very fast. You can search and play artists/albums stream/locally fast on the iPhone app. There's some editors picks, new releases, top charts options on the iPhone app. You can select "Radio" at any time and it will take the song your playing and start playing similar songs...along with that there's a slider so you can select anywhere from "play only same artist" to "similar artists" with weighting to one side or the other with the slider.

I'd say MOG is excellent if you own an iPhone and want any song on demand along with streaming radio options. (during radio play, you can always click on the song and access artist songs/albums, etc and download songs/albums to your local device.

For audiophile/iPhone user (maybe Android as well), MOG is a worth checking out. If you're streaming at home though, their web browser/pop up player is archaic. It works, but nowhere near as sexy as Spotify or even Grooveshark. Web album art is all good and speed is good.

I'll probably give rdio a whirl as well for comparison.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Winnow »

Tried out rdio

They have 7 day free trail without having to give credit card info.

rdio is much better than MOG for PC browsing/playing songs.

I gave the same test for two songs I couldn't find on Spotify and found them on rdio (Shakira song and Heavy Metal Sound Track) edit: add Garbage: Only happy if it rains to the list if you live in the US...wtf?

iPhone App is excellent. All three (Spotify, MOG and rdio) have nice iPhone apps. As long as you're in online mode, your playlists and songs sync quickly to your iphone over wifi or 3g (if you choose to turn on 3G sync)

Streaming is quick as well.


hmmmm

Here are my thoughts on the three.

Best PC based Browse/Playing: Spotify, it's the only of the three that has a dedicated app...on the flip side, can't log in from any PC anywhere because not a browser based app. rdio's best web based player and features.

Best iPhone App: tie, all three are great. Slight edge to Spotify and MOG as rdio's Queue is a little strange but it has best looking app otherwise

Best Radio: MOG. (just toggle on Radio and you're either listening to mix of the artist that was currently playing or mix of similar artists with easy slide preference)

Best Quality Music: MOG 320kbps (rdio 256kbps and Spotify 160kbps with some higher for premium)

Price: Same. All three are 9.99 for mobile sync capability with 4.99 all you can eat options of don't want mobile.

Song Selection: MOG and rdio (you need to conduct your own search tests but for mine, Spotify was missing what I could find on the others even though total songs were higher on Spotify)

Playlists: Spotify. Has easiest to create and shar playlists. rdio isn't bad either.



Overall Impressions:


Spotify:

Would be the best if not for my concerns about availability of songs. I simply noticed several songs and albums missing or "artist has chosen not to make available" that were available on MOG and rdio (both legitimate services with agreements in place) Add Garbage: Only happy when it rains" to list not avail in the US...wtf? Avail on rdio and MOG.

It's stand alond app is outstanding, especially for easy playlist creation and wandering around song to song discovering music.

the iPhone app appears to have all the bells and whistles but I can't fully try it out without paying for the service (unlike MOG and rdio's free trials with access to mobile)


MOG:

Old school web interface that seems a few years out of date. Pop up window player that has it's own search so can easily find what you're looking for from it or switch to radio mode...infact radio mode kicks in after whatever you've selected to play.

Very easy to sync songs or full albums to iPhone.

Seems least friendly for music discovery.. Suited best for those that want highest quality audio and know what they want.

rdio:

Mix between MOG and Spotify. Nice Web based browser. Nice options to search for similar music, find other people's playlists that have music you're listening to in them, etc

no radio option.

It's best for social music as you can see who's listening to same song, search their music history, etc. It's actually a little creepy but at the same time will let you discover lots of music by seeing what others are listening to. There's a lot of ways to search what others are listening to including seeing bubble charts of what they listen to the most. I think music discovery is important for many and rdio has that for sure.
-----

If forced to choose right now, it would be rdio. I'm amazed at what I'm finding avail on rdio and MOG that Spotify doesn't have. rdio's web based player is up to date and the company seems determined to compete with Spotify. Great iPhone app. Mobile syncing, playlists, music quality (256kbps) are all there.

Id suggest trying rdio and MOG. rdio is 1 week free no CC, and MOGs 2 weeks free has easy online way to cancel option (I checked after experiencing Xbox Live's forced call method) if you don't like.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Aslanna »

Sort of related (but not really) I tried Sony's Music Unlimited service since they have a 30 day free trial for Premium. I mainly tried it out because for PS+ members they are having a deal where a year is $12. Not really sure how I can go wrong at a dollar a month but I don't think I'd renew it at $60. You can find a recent comparison of a bunch of streaming services here so I wont say a whole lot about it.

I typically use Pandora at work so I think MU could be a decent alternative. I tried three interfaces: PS3, Vita and Web. I'd say the PS3 one is the worst. The Vita version was surprising decent and will allow for offline play up to 1000 songs (as will Android devices.. Not on ios devices though) and I haven't spent much time with the Web UI but that's primarily what I'll be using at work since I don't feel like carrying another device with me. None of the three are really extravagant though. Pretty much bare bones for the most part. For example there are no dates anywhere... Sometimes I'd like to order albums based on date released but I can't do that with MU. This is pretty basic information I have no idea why it's not included. Also no lyrics like you'd get with (most) Pandora songs.

I haven't delved too far into the selection but I couldn't find the Heavy Metal Soundtrack but they do have Shakira Oral Fixation Vol 2! As far as the audio quality goes it's not bad despite the low bitrate (48kbps!) although honestly it doesn't sound that bad due to the HE-AAC compression format they use. It's no 320kbps though.
Scientific testing by the European Broadcasting Union has indicated that HE-AAC at 48 kbit/s was ranked as "Excellent" quality using the MUSHRA scale. MP3 in the same testing received a score less than half that of HE-AAC and was ranked "Poor" using the MUSHRA scale. Data from this testing also indicated that some individuals confused 48 kbit/s encoded material with an uncompressed original.
Anyway, not a whole lot else to say. It does what it's supposed to but not very many bells and whistles. I do hope they work on improvements to the interface(s) though. So far it seems worth the $12 it will cost for PS+ subscribers when compared to Pandora. Not sure if you can 'stack' multiple years at $12 or if it will just let you get it once. I'll more than likely be trying that out and see if I can get 3-4 years. If not it will be back to Pandora in a year since I'm cheap.
Canelek wrote:Thing I didn't like about Pandora was that you could only skip a certain number of songs...or was that Slacker?
No, that's Pandora. There's a limit I'm just not sure what it is. I think it's 10 in an hour.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Canelek »

Heavy Metal soundtrack...an all time favorite. Been ages!!
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Re: Spotify Sign up

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Canelek wrote:Heavy Metal soundtrack...an all time favorite. Been ages!!

That's a must have soundtrack.

If you listen to fools, the mob ruuuuules!
1. “Heavy Metal” (Original Version) (Sammy Hagar) (3:50)
2. “Heartbeat” (Riggs) (4:20)
3. “Working in the Coal Mine” (Devo) (2:48)
4. “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” (Blue Öyster Cult) (4:48)
5. “Reach Out” (Cheap Trick) (3:35)
6. “Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride)” (Don Felder) (5:00)
7. “True Companion” (Donald Fagen) (5:02)
8. “Crazy (A Suitable Case for Treatment)” (Nazareth) (3:24)
9. “Radar Rider” (Riggs) (2:40)
10. “Open Arms” (Journey) (3:20)
11. “Queen Bee” (Grand Funk Railroad) (3:11)
12. “I Must Be Dreamin’” (Cheap Trick) (5:37)
13. “The Mob Rules” (alternate version) (Black Sabbath) (2:43)
14. “All of You” (Don Felder) (4:18)
15. “Prefabricated” (Trust) (2:59)
16. “Blue Lamp” (Stevie Nicks) (3:48)
I think there are some legal issues with having the entire album on a service. (Stevie Nicks Blue Lamp being one of them) You can find ten of the songs on grooveshark though:

http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/Heav ... k/77587003

Grooveshark remains a decent free alternative to Spotify, etc, especially if you just want to hear a song real fast. (PC/iOS (html5)/Android)
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Re: Spotify Sign up

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Spent a bit more time with MU and decided to subscribe. You can't 'stack' multiple years which is pretty disappointing so I don't see myself renewing in a year unless it's $12 again which I doubt it will be.

A few things so far though.. I've had two songs cut off before the end. I didn't go back to see if it was just a network glitch thing or if they are actually incomplete on the server. Also there are albums you'd think would be there but aren't. Just off the top of my head I found missing: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon and Division Bell. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet and New Jersey. I'm sure I will encounter more! I could see licensing issues with some but not sure why some are seemingly missing even if the artists were on the same label. No Dark Side of the Moon... One of the best selling albums of all time.. Really? omg!
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by miir »

I tried MU for a month and wasn't very impressed.
$12/year is a pretty sick deal but I don't think I would use it very much at all.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Zamtuk »

I pay (gasp!) for the Spotify Premium, and completely love it. I basically use it in lieu of keeping my old stolen songs around, but the neat thing is you can download anything you have that Spotify doesn't into the playlist to download to your phone (only point of paying for premium is phone use). So while, it may not have the Beatles or Metallica, I do, and now my playlists have it incorporated. This service is also great for car navigation as well. Haven't listened to the radio in the past year.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Funkmasterr »

Pfft, what's the problem with keeping old stolen songs around?
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Aslanna »

It's hard work to download stuff them copy to flash drive or whatever. Not to mention they're not really allowed on our corporate network. But they don't mind if people stream music. Go figure! If I had a smartphone or whatever I'd probably just use that but as mentioned I don't really want to carry an extra device around. So for me streaming is a better fit.

MU also has that synch ability I believe although I haven't really looked into that functionality at this time.
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Re: Spotify Sign up

Post by Winnow »

I'd probably go Spotify if I went premium on any service. I prefer a dedicated music player as opposed to browser based and their iOS app is solid. Like how easy is it to make play lists on Spotify (as it probably is on most of these services but I like the stand along PC app for managing them.

I'm not a big music person so the free Spotify is perfectly fine. If I am listening to music, it's not in the background so I'm actively switching songs which avoids the ads anyway. I'd go premium if I wanted to listen on my iPad or iPhone. I listen to audiobooks or podcasts instead of music if I'm working on something that isn't a video or has audio. You can learn a lot that way! (non fiction books)
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Re: Spotify Sign up

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BTW I didn't renew Music Unlimited... Too pricey for me. And it looks like Sony is killing it off altogether. I can't say I blame them! However for Spoifty fans.. It looks like PlayStation is where it's at! Although for me I'll just stick with streaming music from my Plex server. It works quite well. I don't need my console for playing music.
Hello everyone! I’m thrilled today to introduce a new music destination called PlayStation Music, with Spotify as the exclusive partner. We’ve partnered with our friends at Spotify to bring its award-winning digital music service to PlayStation Network this spring in 41 markets around the world.

We know how important music is to our community of gamers, and this partnership combines the best in music with the best in gaming. PlayStation Network users will enjoy the convenience of linking your accounts to Spotify, making it easy to sign-up with your existing ID and subscribe to Spotify’s Premium service. You can also use Spotify while playing games on PS4, enabling you to soundtrack your gaming sessions with your favorite songs in the background. Want something heavy and rocking for an intense Destiny Raid? How about some old school hip hop while taking the field in Madden NFL? With more than 30 million songs and 1.5 billion playlists, Spotify on PlayStation Music has it covered. As we get closer to launch we look forward to telling you about some of the other great features that will be available exclusively through Spotify on PlayStation Music.

The new service will launch initially on PS4 and PS3, as well as Xperia smartphones and tablets. You’ll of course be able to listen to your favorite playlists – including existing playlists from current Spotify users as well as Spotify curated playlists – and enjoy the service on all of Spotify’s supported devices.

Prior to the launch of Spotify on PlayStation Music, the Music Unlimited service will close in all 19 countries on March 29, 2015. Nearly all of these countries will be among the 41 markets where PlayStation Music featuring Spotify will be available at launch, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil. From February 28, 2015, Music Unlimited users with active subscriptions will receive up to 30 days of free access through March 29, 2015.
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