You’ve doubtlessly heard something about Spotify coming to the United States. Those crazy Europeans have been rocking out to this streaming music service, according to Wikipedia, since late 2008. The tech press went positively bonkers when Spotify launched in the home of the brave. I’ve played around with the free service since day one, and have to say it is pretty neat.
It’s called Spotify Open and costs zero, although unlimited streaming likely won’t last beyond 2011. That’s a rather generous offering (read: money-pit) to sway numerous freedom-loving users to ditch iTunes and start streaming.
So what did I do?
I bought this EP off of iTunes today. For $4.99. That was free on Spotify.
I look kind of silly right now, but hear me out. First of all, I was born and raised in the iTunes ecosystem so I’m used to going there when I hear about some fresh tracks on Rexly. But I consciously considered opening up Spotify and chose not to. It wasn’t an altruistic stand against free music; Spotify pays licensing fees per play so that would not make sense anyway. I bought the songs because now I can have them forever.
Spotify is an amazing deal for any of you doing the math out there. For the cost of an album per month you can have Spotify on any computer or mobile device that you own (Open only let’s you play from the desktop app.) For that monthly fee you can also download local copies of the songs for offline playback, which seems like a damn good deal in this economy (or any other.) What happens when you decide to leave Spotify, or they go bankrupt? All that hard work put into creating playlists with ironic names, along with your music collection for the entirety of your time with the service, is now… poof.
Yikes.
I’ve put a lot of time and dolla-dolla-billz into building my music library, so I cringe at the idea of paying a monthly fee to ensure its continued survival. I am very serious when I say that my entire life through music can be accessed via that stupidly redesigned iTunes logo; from my middle school obsession with Blink-182 and Green Day to my post-hipster mediocre dubstep of today. There is nothing more sacred to me, nothing that gets closer to my heart, than music – it has changed the way I perceive and interact with the world. I probably have signed innumerable Terms of Service with those bloodsucking chupacabras at the RIAA that mean I don’t actually own these files, but knowing that they are on my computer and in my pocket just makes me happy.
Along with a copy of Atlas Shrugged, I carry my music with me everywhere I go. As with that book, our relationship has evolved a lot over the years. The songs I play now differ wildly from last year, and may be unrecognizable to 15-year-old Chris, but I feel that those 4122 items are the most accurate digital reflection of myself. An amalgamation of everything I’ve been; a musical trail of breadcrumbs from where I was to where I am. Maybe I’m just a stubborn 20-year-old male, but I’m not going to abandon my best friend, confidant, motivator, psychologist, and childhood hero.
Not even for $9.99 a month. Not even for free.
//chris maddox