Spotify Goes Live in US, End of Music Piracy As We Know It?

[admin]

Spotify has finally come to the US, after the free music streaming service has been well received in the European markets where it has been operating since 2008.

So far, US users have to get an invitation to join the service, and if they don't have one, you can provide your email to Spotify and they will send out one as soon as it's available. Customers of Spotify's launch partners, Coca-Cola and Sprite, Chevrolet, Motorola, Reebok, Sonos and The Daily, might be able to get their hands on an invite sooner rather than later as well.

The official launch, more details in this official blog post, will provide the same "freemium" Spotify service European music lovers have come to known and love. The free account allows you to enjoy 15 million tracks, with comes with some advertising. The $4.99 per month "Unlimited" service gets rid of the ads, while the $9.99 per month "Premium" service also allows for offline listening, and comes with mobile device support.

It is thought that Spotify will compete with Apple's iTunes Match service, but the two service operate quite differently. While iTunes Match will allow people who download pirated music to pay a little bit back to the industry, $25 per month, Spotify has the advantage of being legal 100% of the process (so you don't need to take the risk of downloading pirated MP3s).

Regardless of whether Spotify will compete directly with Apple iTunes Match, one thing is for sure - Spotify will do more to prevent music piracy than any of the methods attempted by the music industry, such as DRM or lawsuits.

If you're interested, and you live in the US, you can sign up here to request an invite:

http://www.spotify.com/us/hello-america/

[JaneSmith]

Thank you for your reminding, and I will go there.

[dr_ml422]

This is great, and I really can't say I know too much about the service, though what if you want to listen to something in a car? Not that some cars prolly have Wi-Fi, though let's say one rents a car then what? Do you get to keep these tracks and burn them on a CD etc... to listen somewhere else? I don't want to blow my cell battery w/mobile support and $9.99 a month.

Who also is going to listen to anything near 15 million tracks? Helluva option if anything...

Otn, I'm not paying $25.00 monthly either to Jobs etc... when I get my music from my DJ.

[admin]

The free version of Spotify only works on computers, but it's a great way to listen to almost any song you want without having to pay for them (in exchange for some ads - it's basically like interactive radio, without the DJs).

The most expensive plan allows for offline listening, so you can "download" songs, but they will only work within the Spotify player/app. This plan also supports mobile devices.

The iTunes Match service is $25 per year, not per month, but you need to have a copy of the MP3 locally (legally purchased or otherwise) first before a match can occur. The iCloud service is free though.

[dr_ml422]

Ok thanks. So can one keep the iTunes match and put it on a CD for future listening, or is it going to have some sort of bond to Apple like Spotifies Player/App.?

[admin]

It's the iTunes "matched" song is a DRM-free AAC file, so you can keep it forever, convert it, copy to your other devices ... I think only if you want to manage the song via iTunes, there might be a device limit.