The Spotify Thread - cause it's not 2011 anymore (1 Viewer)

[Koya]

One of the things I hated about my ipod was a strange phenomenon. I liked all the songs on my ipod yet I ALWAYS found myself skipping songs and never could figure out what I wanted to listen to. I can see myself doing the same with spotify. I listen to my music when working out & when people are over. Pandora works best for my purposes. I can definitely see the allure of spotify though!

Different strokes... for me, the freedom to custom pick my music is huge. So often I'd just keep skipping on Pandora until I was not allowed to anymore. It was/is great for discovery, but I am very particular about my music - not just in general, but depending on my mood etc. Plus, the opportunity to create basically a full itunes list and have it without paying for each song is great for when I don't have internet access.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

 

[El Floppo]

One of the things I hated about my ipod was a strange phenomenon. I liked all the songs on my ipod yet I ALWAYS found myself skipping songs and never could figure out what I wanted to listen to. I can see myself doing the same with spotify. I listen to my music when working out & when people are over. Pandora works best for my purposes. I can definitely see the allure of spotify though!

Different strokes... for me, the freedom to custom pick my music is huge. So often I'd just keep skipping on Pandora until I was not allowed to anymore. It was/is great for discovery, but I am very particular about my music - not just in general, but depending on my mood etc. Plus, the opportunity to create basically a full itunes list and have it without paying for each song is great for when I don't have internet access.

and fer instance...

the new Spoon is out. Listening to it on Spotify right now from start to finish. Pandora?

 

[NutterButter]

how is this better than Songza for free?

Is a Songza user able to play specific songs whenever they want?

no. is that the only difference and i have to pay 120 investable dollars a year for it?

I don't know if it's the only difference but it is a significant one. One well worth the "investable" $120. Don't you allocate a portion of your disposable income to entertainment? Do you not eat meals at restaurants, do you buy all of your clothes from thrift shops, do you not waste time on the innerwebs that instead could be spent on studying up on restorative dentistry?

I have spotify and don't pay a fee - its free with wifi and laptop.

Free on tablets too.

@Shady the reason I got started on Spotify was the ability to subscribe to other people's playlists. Radio stations and websites and the like. That may be something you find useful at some point?? Just throwing it out there, I see to reason to switch if you are comfortable. I was running both for awhile and finally just gave up on Pandora because I did not need two services (well 3, if you count my Google Music - but I just store my music there, I do not have the All Access service)

Jesus, Google has a paid streaming service as well. How many of these services exist?

 

[shadyridr]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

Yeah I can see myself using pandora for the radio and spotify for the listen to exact track stuff. I appreciate the info

 

[sdp1226]

Cosign. Spotify is life changing for music geeks. Its free if you dont mind commericals/96 quality but we're all FBGs so the $10 Premium fee is well worth it.

Love it. Like how I can set it up to run "offline" so that I am not using data in the car.

My only issue is the fact that you can only buy one user per account. They need a 'family plan' so that you can use it on a couple devices simultaneously, or not have to re-sync stuff when others use the service. It's annoying that when my wife goes out for a run, I have to turn it off at home. I'd pay a bit more ~$15 for the ability to run 2 or 3.

That's a great idea, hopefully they are working in it. I'll sometimes try to log in and my wife is playing her ####ty pop tunes at girls night and I'm SOL - although actually, if we are not connected to the the internet, couldn't we listen offline while someone else is logged in?

Yes you can.

I share my account with my GF and at first, we used to kick each other off if we tried to use the account simultaniously on two devices. You can switch the App or the Desktop program to 'Offline Mode' to allow other devices to use. You can also switch your phone to 'Airplane Mode' to accopmplish the same thing. The only thing with this though, is that you can only listen to songs/playlists that are 'Available Offline'.

 

[shadyridr]

OK so how does one pick an exact track on Spotify. I put in a song and it came up with a bunch of other songs and the only option is to shuffle play those songs. How do I play that specific song? Do I have a setting wrong?

 

[Koya]

Cosign. Spotify is life changing for music geeks. Its free if you dont mind commericals/96 quality but we're all FBGs so the $10 Premium fee is well worth it.

Love it. Like how I can set it up to run "offline" so that I am not using data in the car.

My only issue is the fact that you can only buy one user per account. They need a 'family plan' so that you can use it on a couple devices simultaneously, or not have to re-sync stuff when others use the service. It's annoying that when my wife goes out for a run, I have to turn it off at home. I'd pay a bit more ~$15 for the ability to run 2 or 3.

That's a great idea, hopefully they are working in it. I'll sometimes try to log in and my wife is playing her ####ty pop tunes at girls night and I'm SOL - although actually, if we are not connected to the the internet, couldn't we listen offline while someone else is logged in?

Yes you can.

I share my account with my GF and at first, we used to kick each other off if we tried to use the account simultaniously on two devices. You can switch the App or the Desktop program to 'Offline Mode' to allow other devices to use. You can also switch your phone to 'Airplane Mode' to accopmplish the same thing. The only thing with this though, is that you can only listen to songs/playlists that are 'Available Offline'.

Cool. Every song I like I put in my general list which is available offline so I access to all my starred / fav songs.

 

[Koya]

OK so how does one pick an exact track on Spotify. I put in a song and it came up with a bunch of other songs and the only option is to shuffle play those songs. How do I play that specific song? Do I have a setting wrong?

You click / press the song you actually want, not the shuffle button at the top. Keep ####### around and you'll get it. I'd imagine they have a tutorial also.

 

[ajarofpennies]

If you're an amazon prime member, amazon music might be something worth checking out too. Full albums available, although limited selections depending on preferred genre.

 

[shadyridr]

OK so how does one pick an exact track on Spotify. I put in a song and it came up with a bunch of other songs and the only option is to shuffle play those songs. How do I play that specific song? Do I have a setting wrong?

You click / press the song you actually want, not the shuffle button at the top. Keep ####### around and you'll get it. I'd imagine they have a tutorial also.

I swear its not working

 

[shadyridr]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

This is why its not "working" so WTF are you talking about?

Streaming on demand is a Premium-only feature. To play any song, any time, just upgrade to Premium.

 

[Koya]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

This is why its not "working" so WTF are you talking about?

Streaming on demand is a Premium-only feature. To play any song, any time, just upgrade to Premium.

WHOA. That's new. I have been a subscriber for well over a year now... that really surprises me as I don't see how they are going to get new customers hooked if you can't take the car out for a real test drive (hopefully not the worst analogy ever on this board)

 

[Koya]

shady - hit me up with a PM. I can give you my log in for you to give it a spin if you'd like.

 

[sdp1226]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

This is why its not "working" so WTF are you talking about?

Streaming on demand is a Premium-only feature. To play any song, any time, just upgrade to Premium.

Are you using your phone?

I am not sure if it's free on your phone. I think you can only use the Radio option. The app on a Desktop and Tablets should be free.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

This is why its not "working" so WTF are you talking about?

Streaming on demand is a Premium-only feature. To play any song, any time, just upgrade to Premium.

settle down, Beavis. It is free on PC and tablet. That is where I use it.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I believe that you can create playlists on the PC and then access those exact songs on the phone app.

 

[Jaysus]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

This is why its not "working" so WTF are you talking about?

Streaming on demand is a Premium-only feature. To play any song, any time, just upgrade to Premium.

settle down, Beavis. It is free on PC and tablet. That is where I use it.

yeah, on the phone app you can only shuffle play.

 

[eoMMan]

You guys really need to get with this Sirius XM thing. It's fantastic!

 

[kutta]

I totally dig Spotify. I am a little weird. When I find some music I like, I KILL it. I listen to it all the time. Right now it's Frank Turner. Having simple access to all his albums and being able to play any of them I feel like at any time is just awesome. It's the best 10 bucks I spend each month.

 

[Koya]

You guys really need to get with this Sirius XM thing. It's fantastic!

I have Sirius. Not even close to spotify for music

 

[Steve Tasker]

I was just listening to some music, and saw that the artist was featured on some compilation album. I checked out the compilation album and stumbled onto a different artist who I'd seen live as an opener a few months ago but had forgotten to look up. I've now spent the last two hours listening to basically her entire discography.

Maybe you can do that on other music platforms too, but I love the discovery aspect of Spotify. If you listen to enough music, and I'm usually listening for like 1/2 of my workday, it's so worth it. If I'm listening to a radio-type app and find something that intrigues me, I used to have to write it down and check it out on Youtube later. Now I just type in the name and, for the most part, I have most of the artist's catalog at my fingertips.

 

[NutterButter]

You guys really need to get with this Sirius XM thing. It's fantastic!

Yeah, Sirius is nice as well. You guys need to stop being so cheap and get Pandora premium, Spotify Premium and Sirius. Why limit yourself to just one when each has its advantages.

 

[jwb]

The awesome thing with spotify is having it on all devices, and having your playlists and such follow you. My wife and I built a nice 1,000 song playlist that's a great mix of all genres and such, and has become our default radio station when we hang out on the deck. Then I have a ton of playlists for different moods, work, etc.

Did not know about the higher quality thing. That's a huge deal - resynching my stuff now as we speak. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[mquinnjr]

You guys really need to get with this Sirius XM thing. It's fantastic!

I have Sirius. Not even close to spotify for music

Sirius tries so hard to be like terrestrial radio, it's just awful. Sure, let me pay money to hear DJ's babble between songs... that's the winning formula.

I was an O&A guy, so once my FF drafts are done, I'm done (I've kept because I do like Sirius NFL Radio and the Fantasy channel, no need once Week 1 is here/I'll start some podcasts).

 

[NutterButter]

You guys really need to get with this Sirius XM thing. It's fantastic!

I have Sirius. Not even close to spotify for music

Sirius tries so hard to be like terrestrial radio, it's just awful. Sure, let me pay money to hear DJ's babble between songs... that's the winning formula.

I was an O&A guy, so once my FF drafts are done, I'm done (I've kept because I do like Sirius NFL Radio and the Fantasy channel, no need once Week 1 is here/I'll start some podcasts).

Depends what you like. We're Springsteen fans and there's a dedicated channel for him that plays a ton of concerts as well as some interesting guest djs that have some cool stories. Same with pearl jam. There's other artist channels as well but those are the two i listen to.

 

[kupcho1]

Were the other Spotify threads purged???

 

[Koya]

Were the other Spotify threads purged???

You know I'm too important to #### around with old threads.

Seriously, I searched quickly and didn't see anything. Seems we got some new converts though

 

[kutta]

You guys really need to get with this Sirius XM thing. It's fantastic!

I have Sirius. Not even close to spotify for music

Sirius tries so hard to be like terrestrial radio, it's just awful. Sure, let me pay money to hear DJ's babble between songs... that's the winning formula.

I was an O&A guy, so once my FF drafts are done, I'm done (I've kept because I do like Sirius NFL Radio and the Fantasy channel, no need once Week 1 is here/I'll start some podcasts).

Depends what you like. We're Springsteen fans and there's a dedicated channel for him that plays a ton of concerts as well as some interesting guest djs that have some cool stories. Same with pearl jam. There's other artist channels as well but those are the two i listen to.

I like Sirius too, but if I had to choose one for music, it would be Spotify and not close.

The Springsteen channel is a a little annoying because it seems like all the live stuff is horrible quality. I can hardly even listen to it.

 

[culdeus]

How do you search for radio stations for pandora?

There's one I've been listening too alot "Hipster BBQ". Sue me, but mainly it's the only one I know.

And it's like cracking the enigma machine just to figure out how to enable curated radio stations on pandora.

I use spotify too sometimes but we just have one account and my wife uses it all the time so I can't be on there when she is.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Spotify has a radio feature that works like Pandora.

Spotify lets you listen to the exact track that you want from 99% of all recorded music.

This is all free.

People who have not tried Spotify are missing out or will just be stubborn about the whole thing.

This is why its not "working" so WTF are you talking about?

Streaming on demand is a Premium-only feature. To play any song, any time, just upgrade to Premium.

Are you using your phone?

I am not sure if it's free on your phone. I think you can only use the Radio option. The app on a Desktop and Tablets should be free.

Free account:

On laptop/computer (maybe tablet too, not sure)- play any song in their library whenever you want. Make playlists. Ads will be thrown in.

On phone - you can listen to your playlists in random shuffle mode only. Ads will be thrown in. You only get 6 (I think) fast fwd/skips per hr.

You could make a bunch of 1-song playlists if you wanted to hear a particular song over and over again.

Premium account ($10/mo):

On laptop/computer, same as above. Added benefits: no ads, ability to make songs available offline.

On phone - play any song whenever you want. Listen to your playlists in the order you put the songs in. No ads. Unlimited skips. Ability to listen to songs that you've tagged as offline available.

 

[hagmania]

I scrobble on last.fm, fits my needs.

 

[Koya]

I'm surprised that spotify doesn't have a one month free offed to get peeps fully hooked.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Also, being able to download to your own device for offline playing is awesome. I'm on a 6 hour flight cross country and have hundreds of songs with me.

didn't know you could do this. thought it was just streaming. what can you download to, and how?

 

[Quez]

I would recomend Google Play Radio for $9.99 a mo. for those of you immersed in the Google ecosystem. I'm pretty sure they very similar.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

My only complaint is that I wish there were an easier way to add individual songs I already own to the library like Amazon Cloud Player/Prime Music.

If Prime Music can catch up to the selection on Spotify, I think that can replace it as the do everything music player.

Why don't you just re download those songs to you Spotify and set for offline listening? Not like it costs more

I'm talking specifically about the songs that Spotify doesn't have.

On Amazon you can supplement their missing songs by adding them from your library if you were able to find them anywhere. It seems like Spotify has something similar but it's unintuitive and appears to be an "all or nothing" type thing, compared to Amazon where your cloud player and their prime music all mesh together like they're the same source. Amazon's Prime library is too far behind right now, but if they can catch up on that front it may be worth checking out.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I'm surprised that spotify doesn't have a one month free offed to get peeps fully hooked.

They do.

 

[culdeus]

Amazon prime is useless right now.

 

[badmojo1006]

I'm surprised that spotify doesn't have a one month free offed to get peeps fully hooked.

I do Spotify Free and am ok with the occasional ad

 

[jamny]

I just love picking a band and playing their catalog for a few hours. I don't care if there are ads.

 

[Abraham]

Only qualm with these companies is the $ that the artist receives. It seems like they get royally screwed while the labels and everyone else gets paid.

You're falling in to the trap the labels have set about online music. They want you worrying that the artists aren't getting their cut so spotify must be bad. But spotify is paying out just fine - the licensing contracts that management and labels have with performers are not under the control of spotify. The labels are screwing the artists here, not steaming radio.

 

[McGarnicle]

Big Pandora fan, no desire to change. I've tailored my stations over the years so they're just about perfect for my tastes. Creating playlists seems like work.

 

[Abraham]

My only complaint about spotify is no Beatles.

 

[chauncey]

O O O O'reilly.

I had premium for about a year then let it go because I was enjoying Songza most of the time. The free version of Spotify isn't bad but the shuffle play on the phone and tablet can be annoying at times when you want to listen to an album straight through. Also if you have a playlist with only a few songs they throw in a bunch of suggested songs to the shuffle play. Small complaints for what you get for free.

Creating playlists can be work. There are a bunch of playlists out there that you can subscribe/follow that aren't bad. One feature that has been mentioned is on desktop version as you are listening to albums or radio any song you like you can drag over to a playlist or create a new one or just star it. This makes it real easy to build playlists over time, especially if you run Spotify in the background while doing other stuff online.

If you link Spotify to your Facebook account does it spam your FB timeline every time you play a song? I'd rather not have that info out in the public sometimes

 

[El Floppo]

If you link Spotify to your Facebook account does it spam your FB timeline every time you play a song? I'd rather not have that info out in the public sometimes

you can turn that off in settings.

I never use fb, and all of a sudden when I signed up for spotify, I had all these "likes" for crap I was playing. FB is ####### weird. who the hell cares and should know what I'm listening to?

 

[Koya]

O O O O'reilly.

I had premium for about a year then let it go because I was enjoying Songza most of the time. The free version of Spotify isn't bad but the shuffle play on the phone and tablet can be annoying at times when you want to listen to an album straight through. Also if you have a playlist with only a few songs they throw in a bunch of suggested songs to the shuffle play. Small complaints for what you get for free.

Creating playlists can be work. There are a bunch of playlists out there that you can subscribe/follow that aren't bad. One feature that has been mentioned is on desktop version as you are listening to albums or radio any song you like you can drag over to a playlist or create a new one or just star it. This makes it real easy to build playlists over time, especially if you run Spotify in the background while doing other stuff online.

If you link Spotify to your Facebook account does it spam your FB timeline every time you play a song? I'd rather not have that info out in the public sometimes

No spam. At all. I can, when I choose, decide to post a song I'm listening to on Facebook. That's cool. I have no spam complaints, though... at ALL. Not one.

 

[jwb]

Also, being able to download to your own device for offline playing is awesome. I'm on a 6 hour flight cross country and have hundreds of songs with me.

didn't know you could do this. thought it was just streaming. what can you download to, and how?

You can download (listen offline) your playlists. But not to "keep" - if you stop paying the $10 a month, it won't work.

Well worth it - For $120 a year, I can carry around music that would have cost thousands on iTunes.

 

[Steve Tasker]

I scrobble on last.fm, fits my needs.

I scrobble last.fm via Spotify. Good stuff.

 

[eoMMan]

Big Pandora fan, no desire to change. I've tailored my stations over the years so they're just about perfect for my tastes. Creating playlists seems like work.

That's pretty much me but I add in SiriusXM and Iheartradio for some shows I like. (And the SiriusXM has a ton of good non-music stations.)

 

[Brony]

I have Pandora, and liked it for many years. I've been listening much more to Spotify over the past year and am a big fan. I have a friend that is an avid Pandora fan and is resistant to try Spotify - it's this mentality that I find weird... Spotify is free and is also a music streaming app. Its not like VHS vs Beta where you have to choose one. It's not even like AMG vs Colombia house. Try both. Heck, use both.

If you just like classic rock reruns or 80s mix tapes, I think Pandora beats Spotify, but for most other music enthusiasts, I can't picture a reason why not to try Spotify.