USA Get Ready For Spotify!

I had to get on here to post this, just caught the announcement.

Us Europeans have been enjoying the benefits of Spotify for some time. It's a bit like radio, on your computer, but you choose the playlist. You can pay or have a free account. Free accounts have occasional adverts. Less (in my experience) if you like the esoteric stuff. They constantly update their archives of music, and the artists get paid, like radio, a royalty based on how often their music gets played, paid for by subscriptions and adverts.

They have a ridiculous archive, really esoteric stuff, really obscure stuff. I spent my first few weeks searching for the most random stuff I could think of. Rarely did I fail to find something. I could search "All The Thing You Are" a jazz standard, and get hundreds, thousands even, of different versions. Want the 306 different live versions in recorded existence of Muddy Waters performing Hoochie Coochie Man? Got it*. Know the album name, but not the track? Album searches work, too. Want to search by record label? Hmmm, I wonder what Bluenote records have put out that I haven't heard yet? Done.

Oh, this thing is glorious. And you can even get it for your iPhone/Android phone (paid accs only, last time I checked).

Anyway, Spotify wasn't available in the US as the major labels wouldn't sign up for it there until it was "proven" as a good product. Well now they're signing up! http://mashable.com/2011/01/19/spotify-sony-deal/ This also means that we Europeans might even get the latest Miley Cyrus album as the major labels begin to play ball. But we will suffer that injustice for the sake of all of you ex-communicated, estranged, fleeing your home-continent heathens. And I mean that nicely. :wink: Enjoy! (I hope)

We Europeans will now sit back and bask in the infinite coolest of having got there first. Take that, you iPod wielding, rocket launching, silicon-toting scoundrels. 8) :wink:

*That stat is made up by me. But is indiciative of some of my surprise finds.