Review — Spotify's Many Songs Overshadow Few Kinks

Legal and glorious.

A few days ago, I said Spotify, a new music streaming service that allows you to build your own playlists, would end piracy. Well, I received my invitation to join Spotify yesterday, and it's pretty darn close.

The fun starts after registration and uploading local tracks (we'll get to that later.) With more than 15 million songs, I was able to search for "JEFF the Brotherhood" (band), and find "We Are the Champions" (album) and listen to it the entire way through.

Example: I have NO Lady Gaga on my iTunes, or in my computer. At all. If I were to (hypothetically) want to listen to "Born This Way," I could. For free. Legally. Is anybody listening to this?

Another plus is the ability to download the Spotify software to iPhone or Android smartphones. While connected to the Internet, Spotify can stream any song from its library to your phone. If you have enough storage space, Spotify also lets you save local songs to your smartphone.

This sounds too good to be true. The short answer is: yes and no. It is a fantastic application to download to your phone, and can even put new songs in a "reminder" space for you to listen to when you get back to your computer. The bad news is that you can only stream Spotify's music if you have a Premium subscription, costing $9.99 a month.

There are a few new songs you will not be able to hear while they're still selling buckets of cash on iTunes, or because the artist simply doesn't want to test their new material in this market. American labels have signed onto Spotify reluctantly, testing many — but not all — of their catalogues. So while you may have Mission of Burma's "Vs." or Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," you won't get Pearl Jam's deluxe edition of "Ten." But, as stated before, this is a very small price to pay for the multitude of tracks that are available.

Then there are the ads on the free version. Although you can listen to this music (relatively) non-stop, sooner or later, an ad for Spotify or some new record will jump into the playlist, momentarily breaking your train of tunes. Again, a small price to pay when the ads are the reason you can use this program.

Although the Facebook feature still doesn't make sense, nor is it explained properly, Spotify for your desktop offers what other services have not: A choice.

REVIEW:
(+) Huge catalogue
(+) Listen to entire albums or single songs at your own discretion
(+) Better, simpler, more comprehensive than any other streaming service.
(/) Mobile streaming could be fantastic — if you have a premium subscription
(-) Pesky advertising
(-) Only 20 hours a month? Harsh.


Final Verdict: 8/10