DonFck
Hibernator
+3,227|6601|Finland

I was thrilled when Spotify was first introduced as two different versions; the 9,99€/month Premium and the ad-supported Free versions. I had Spotify on all the time, every day. The free version back then was a few commercials every 20-25 minutes or so, and unlimited use. As it was introduced to the U.S. market, the Free version in Europe was limited to 5 plays per track (ever) and 10 hours of play/month and the ads remained.

I understand that the initial free version with unlimited use pissed off record labels (ad revenue wasn't enough, and there were too few premium users, I guess), and I also understand that it may have been just a way to get people hooked enough to go for Premium once the use of Free was limited ridiculously. The 10 hours, that's fine by me, but 5 plays per track sucks ass tbh.

Now you have the unlimited Free version in the U.S, but my bet is that you'll soon be just as pissed off as the Europeans were when that was taken away. Because they will.

http://www.spotify.com/se/blog/archives … free-open/
Almost 10 000 replies in that blog entry.

I might soon upgrade to Premium or Unlimited, but I'm still mad at Spotify pretty much kicking their end users in the face with their customer approach.

Is it better then for the record labels that I've gone back to torrents? I'm discovering less music now, and it's a lot more work too, so I'm less inclined to find an album I'd like to buy. If I like an album, I go out and buy it (an actual physical CD). With Spotify Free in use, I bought several because I discovered them using it.
I need around tree fiddy.
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

coolstorybro wrote:

ya but it says the track was added as a local file and if its on my computer i can import it?
Thats right.. it was pretty unique. I can upload it to spotify but I havent tried that yet... hmm
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gurdeep
­
+812|4725|proll­y
ok see if you can find which one i added :p
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

DonFck wrote:

I was thrilled when Spotify was first introduced as two different versions; the 9,99€/month Premium and the ad-supported Free versions. I had Spotify on all the time, every day. The free version back then was a few commercials every 20-25 minutes or so, and unlimited use. As it was introduced to the U.S. market, the Free version in Europe was limited to 5 plays per track (ever) and 10 hours of play/month and the ads remained.

I understand that the initial free version with unlimited use pissed off record labels (ad revenue wasn't enough, and there were too few premium users, I guess), and I also understand that it may have been just a way to get people hooked enough to go for Premium once the use of Free was limited ridiculously. The 10 hours, that's fine by me, but 5 plays per track sucks ass tbh.

Now you have the unlimited Free version in the U.S, but my bet is that you'll soon be just as pissed off as the Europeans were when that was taken away. Because they will.

http://www.spotify.com/se/blog/archives … free-open/
Almost 10 000 replies in that blog entry.

I might soon upgrade to Premium or Unlimited, but I'm still mad at Spotify pretty much kicking their end users in the face with their customer approach.

Is it better then for the record labels that I've gone back to torrents? I'm discovering less music now, and it's a lot more work too, so I'm less inclined to find an album I'd like to buy. If I like an album, I go out and buy it (an actual physical CD). With Spotify Free in use, I bought several because I discovered them using it.
I don't mind paying 9.99 for unlimited premium account. Like I said, the seamless integration with my mobile device is almost worth it all in itself.

You see, I'm old enough to remember paying $16 for one album .
Xbone Stormsurgezz
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

coolstorybro wrote:

ok see if you can find which one i added :p
https://i.imgur.com/vIX35.jpg
Xbone Stormsurgezz
gurdeep
­
+812|4725|proll­y
i cant stream on my phone without premium
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

coolstorybro wrote:

i cant stream on my phone without premium
You didn't get the trial? Should have been 2 weeks.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
gurdeep
­
+812|4725|proll­y
guess not. or maybe ive already had it more than 2 weeks idk
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

..

https://i.imgur.com/jMoim.jpg
Xbone Stormsurgezz
gurdeep
­
+812|4725|proll­y
well i got the email from them on the 19th so it hasnt been 2 weeks
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

coolstorybro wrote:

well i got the email from them on the 19th so it hasnt been 2 weeks
ghey.. you was robbed. Mine has expired, but I decided to keep it.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
gurdeep
­
+812|4725|proll­y
oh well
DonFck
Hibernator
+3,227|6601|Finland

Kmar wrote:

I don't mind paying 9.99 for unlimited premium account. Like I said, the seamless integration with my mobile device is almost worth it all in itself.

You see, I'm old enough to remember paying $16 for one album .
I still pay 16 € for an album. I listened to Spotify Free, liked one album out of maybe 99 and went out and got it. I'm old enough as well, I needs my CD:s in my shelf. Getting me to the point when I actually go out and buy a CD was really easy with Spotify, they've just made it harder. I've abandoned it altogether although I have the Free account and all 10 hours unused. When I buy the album, I don't have to pay 9,99 month to listen to it.

It's the five tracks thing that bothers me the most, and it's probably the only reason why I'm ranting and rambling mindlessly.

Some random post scriptums:
- Are record companies losing money because of piracy? I say they're making more.
- Did you know that the song You Suffer by Napalm Death costs 99cents on iTunes?

These things being said, in the future, I'm still gonna probably start paying for Spotify. I'm just in a prolonged anger state that has endured ever since the Free use was limited. I'm a 31 year old teenager.
I need around tree fiddy.
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

Considering I was at one time paying for a Zune pass at $15 for unlimited a month and the library wasn't as big as Spotify's library... it's a real entertainment bargain. Like I said in the OP, it's going to be tough to be able to convince certain people (like pirates) that the service is worth it. But at least spotify is trying to make their service a real alternative to pirating by including certain useful features imo.

I believe it's up to the creator of the music to decide their business model (right or wrong).
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DonFck
Hibernator
+3,227|6601|Finland

Kmar wrote:

Considering I was at one time paying for a Zune pass at $15 for unlimited a month and the library wasn't as big as Spotify's library... it's a real entertainment bargain. Like I said in the OP, it's going to be tough to be able to convince certain people (like pirates) that the service is worth it. But at least spotify is trying to make their service a real alternative to pirating by including certain useful features imo.

I believe it's up to the creator of the music to decide their business model (right or wrong).
For me, it was an alternative to pirating and still is, but the psychology behind having something awesome (superawesomeunlimitedlisteningwithmassivelyannoyingadvertisementinbetween) and then it's taken away (youcanlistentothissongfivetimesandfivetimesonlysoshutthefuckup), you know, it's a motherfüker.

Had it been introduced as a limited version from the start, I'd still be stoked as hell.
I need around tree fiddy.
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

I know what you are saying. Business models change though. People are kinda pissed off here in the states because Netflix is shuffling things around and it's hurting the consumer. IIRC last.fm pissed a few people off also when they started charging to stream their music to mobile devices as well.
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DonFck
Hibernator
+3,227|6601|Finland

Profit has to be made for a company to stay on its feet, no objections there. I'm not sure if these actions hurt the company profile and income more than create revenue though. A loyal customer base is a good cornerstone to base business on, but quick earnings seem to take priority all to often. Maybe it's the consumers fault? Many of us are running after something that's new and shiny, but could that also be because the earlier service providers lost view of what their users wanted in the first place? Take myspace->facebook->Google Plus (possibly) for example.

Had Spotify concentrated on increasing income by getting more ad content and profiling itself as a serious advertisement medium, maybe with survey-based user account-pinpointed commercials, the limitations could've been avoided? Now the ads were basically Jonathan from Spotify telling us how cool Premium is 7 times out of 10, the 3 others being actual ads.

Personally, I'd like to see some stats on how many Free users moved to Premium after the change as well as usage rates of the ones that stayed on the Free version before and after the change.

The big 4, Universal, Sony, EMI and Warner have a lot of leverage, too much even. It's because of their pressure that these changes were made, I'm sure about that. Their claim of lost income is idiotic.
I need around tree fiddy.
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

These changes are not simply done for no reason. That of course is not to say the a company is incapable of making a bad decision. But more often than not a drastic change is not made if the current model is producing sustainable revenue. This could also explain why Spotify finally pulled the trigger and opened itself up to the US market. Spotify is making more money off of subscriptions then they are off of ad revenue.

It's essentially a gamble. Spotify is betting that if there's a drop in ad revenue it will be made up by more paying subscribers. However, a drop in ad revenue isn't a sure thing. Opening their service up to the US market would undoubtedly appeal to advertisers. So if old users are turned off by the freemium changes, there could still possibly be an overall increase in free user base (and in ad revenue), even if you subtract the now unhappy euro.
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Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

Hurricane2k9 wrote:

driving while high is fucking retarded, sorry j but it's just stupid.

I'm all for legalizing marijuana but some people make a really good case for eradicating it lol
speaking of. Did you know comedy albums are on Spotify also?

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Hurricane2k9
Pendulous Sweaty Balls
+1,538|5671|College Park, MD
Now I do

I'm debating getting a Spotify premium/unlimited account. I like the idea behind it. But I prefer iTunes' interface.

e: do you get to keep the offline tracks or do you have to keep paying monthly to be able to listen to them?

Last edited by Hurricane2k9 (2011-08-10 20:08:02)

https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/36793/marylandsig.jpg
PrivateVendetta
I DEMAND XMAS THEME
+704|6161|Roma
Mate has Spotify premium, it's ok, but they lack a lot of music, Youtube tends to have it.
https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/29388/stopped%20scrolling%21.png
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

Lacks "a lot" of music? It doesn't seem like it to me. There are a few artist that have exclusivity deals that prevent them from allowing their music on streaming services. I don't think spotify can compete with the massive service of youtube. But youtube isn't nearly as friendly when it comes to playing and streaming music. Especially on portable devices. It's just not the same thing.

Another thing I like about spotify is that I can hear something on the radio, catch it with shazam if I don't know the name.
https://i.imgur.com/UqR83.jpg
Hit play in spotify and save it to a playlist .. it literally only takes 3 taps to put something in your library. I find that one of the biggest problems some people have when creating their library/playlist its that they never remember what they want ..lol.
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Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

Hurricane2k9 wrote:

Now I do

I'm debating getting a Spotify premium/unlimited account. I like the idea behind it. But I prefer iTunes' interface.

e: do you get to keep the offline tracks or do you have to keep paying monthly to be able to listen to them?
Spotify uses it's own codec I believe. So you would need to play it with the spotify software which would undoubtedly recognize that you are no longer a premium user.

Try it for a month. I'll be surprised if you cancel after the first month. If you're really in to music, for ten bucks, it's a shitload of entertainment. And the useability factor is nothing like I've ever experienced before.

And if you can get your friends on the service with you it's really fun to share, subscribe, and create playlist with each other.
https://i.imgur.com/NEGmE.jpg
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Hurricane2k9
Pendulous Sweaty Balls
+1,538|5671|College Park, MD
Tried to find a song that was on Spotify a few weeks ago, it's gone now. Fail.
https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/36793/marylandsig.jpg
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

I'm using google music for the few.. and i do mean few.. songs i can not find.
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