When I was younger - in elementary school, I loved music - and consequently, spent a lot of my allowance on CD's. Many CD's were $16 - $20 each. I can also remember signing up for 'Get 12 CD's for 1 cent (after you purchase 6 at regular price)' from the Columbia House or BMG Music Club fliers that were sent in the mail. Then in high school, Napster came out - and suddenly everything was free. I won't go through all the controversy that everyone is aware of - but music went from being fairly expensive to free, albeit illegal.
Well, not much has changed in the last 10 years. Free music has been the way to go because buying CDs and even the $1/song on iTunes/Amazon seems too steep for something you can get for free (it's about as illegal as speeding is, right?). Napster is gone now and I've been using Grooveshark for most of my listening needs for the last two years or so. Grooveshark claims that they're legal, but it seems almost like Napster, without the downloads. I did have a paid subscription to Grooveshark for $3/month, but mainly so I wouldn't get the huge, risque themes/ads they displayed while I listened at work. I was a big fan of Grooveshark, but between being on the border of illegal, having condom ads, and having to sift through user-uploaded crappy audio - it wasn't perfect.
Enter - Spotify. Spotify has been available over seas for several years now, but just made it's debut in the U.S. last week. Spotify is free and legal! However, the free has limitations - and I immediately upgraded to the Premium - $10/month - to get unlimited andmobile access.
Ten bucks per month may seem like a lot for something that we used to get for free - but doing things the legal way gets rid of that little voice in the back of your mind. I feel free to listen to all the music I want again without feeling sleazy for doing it! And I have been - I've been listening to a lot of music lately. Spotify has full albums in a nice clean format (you don't have 5-6 user uploaded versions of the same song, like Grooveshark), it's easy to use, and you can listen anywhere - even offline. I'm happy with the service… and happy to pay about half the price of one CD per month.
Also, as info - there are other services besides Spotify that offer similar services, legally, and for about the same price:
There's really nothing that puts Spotify above these other services - it was just the one I chose after all the hype was built up about it.
The reason for this post is just to say that I'm happy that someone came up with a business plan where both the music industry and the music fans win - and I'm happy to pay for a good service.