Spotify!

[jeb1900]

Hey Guys,

For the last few months, I've been a Premium user of Spotify.  I have to say, that this is the best music listening decision I've ever made. 

Music using Telstra 3G streams perfectly whilst in areas with reception, and it means that I have access to the world entire music collection list.  Perfect for those long car trips, where you burn out all your CDs by listening to them too much. 

I can hear those already about to type, but what about when you're out of reception.  Well, as a premium user you can download all the music you want onto your laptop, phone and whatever else computer you have, and remain offline for up to 30 days at a time.  Allowing you to listen to your music, even when you're out of signal.

I encourage everyone to give it a go, I've found it great. 

[Bird]

Download MP3's, buy a Media player for the car and have them for <30 days and no reception issues

[jeb1900]

Yeah, I used to do that Lost.  However, for the small fee they charge I am happy to become a legal citizen and enjoy the overall better service that you enjoy with Spotify.

It's far far far more simpler than downloading Mp3s. 

At least for me, the 30 day limit is something that will never cause me a problem.  Only in my wildest dreams could I escape civilisation for that long. 

[Bunyip]

Hi jeb1900,

I am assuming you have no affiliation here and are just a satisfied user.

A quick question for you, does the streaming count in your download limit, or is spotify on the list of bigpond unmetered sites?

That would be my main concern.

Bunyip

[jeb1900]

Hey Bunyip,

Yeah, no affiliation just a satisfied user. 

I'm actually not sure if it's download data free with Telstra.  I've not yet run into any issues with my download limit on my telstra phone, so I have not really paid attention. 

I usually run with a combination of streaming when driving, and from playlists I've already downloaded when at home on Wi-Fi. 

[Bunyip]

I have a 12 year old who would not understand. I already caught her down at the cricket club watching music videos from YouTube!

Don't think I have exceeded my limit but really don't want to try either LB was kind enough to get me the iPad, don't want it to be confiscated for costing too much.

Bunyip

[jeb1900]

Yeah, it's surprising how little even youtube uses on your phone these days.  They seem to really cut back the quality in order to get it to you quickly and with little bandwidth requirements.

Before spotify, I used to listen to music in the car using youtube.  However, there are some legality issues there with changing the songs, let alone a bit dangerous if there are good looking ladies in the video clip!!!

[Bunyip]

I never had to worry about it because I had a company phone with a company data plan.

Now I have a personal iPad these things are becoming front of mind

[BrindiCruiser]

yep. Spotify is great. Best music service or product that I have ever bought. I also get the premium package and reckon it is pretty good value.

[joey]

I too use it and enjoy it.

I have Premium and acess via computer and phones.

In regards to data usage if you use it on your phone the data usage adds up quick though.

cheers Joey

[Matto]

+1 here. Spotify Premium is great.

There's a little-known glitch with using offline mode on your phone if you sign in with your facebook account (the default option these days). It's an easy fix once you know.

The symptoms:
You put Spotify into Offline Mode
You put your phone into Airplane Mode
You get on the plane
Spotify works perfectly
You get out the other end, and turn your phone radios back on
You do your work
You go back to the airport, put your phone back into airplane mode, and get on your flight
At 12,000ft you fire up Spotify, only to find that it wants you to reauthenticate before letting you do anything, and you sit the rest of your flight in silence.

The Solution:
Use a Device password. It's really easy. You need to log in to the Spotify website to generate your device password and get your Spotify username.
Details here: http://www.spotify.com/us/help/faq/devices/connect-devices/

The only issue I have with Spotify is that the catalog isn't as comprehensive as it should be. It's pretty good, but there's still quite a bit that you can't find. IE, the older Snow Patrol albums are in there, but the latest 2 are not. I'm sure this will change as they enter in to more licensing contracts with more publishers, but it's annoying that it's still a big problem given the head-start that Spotify had on the competition.

By contrast, the new Xbox Music service has a catalog that's roughly double Spotify's, straight from launch day, for the same monthly fee. It will be interesting to see how they go against each other, once MS get their IOS and Android clients out.

Before Spotify:
Walk up to TV
Fire up media centre PC
Wait for media centre PC to boot
Find TV remote
Turn on TV
Set TV to AV input
Put down TV remote, pick up PC remote
Use PC remote to open mp3 library
Scroll through to find music I want
Put down PC remote, pick up AV receiver remote
Change AV receiver to PC input
Change volume
Set outside speakers on
Walk outside
Walk back in and repeat whole procedure for next album

With Spotify:
Take iphone/ipad out onto patio
Open Spotify, search for playlists
Press play
Change from iphone/ipad speakers to Airplay AP hooked up to stereo
Enjoy music - change volume, skip tracks, etc all from the iphone/ipad without leaving my chair (and more importantly, my drink)

Love it!
Matto

[Trackaprado]

I used MOG for a little while.  Same price as Spotify but its unmetered on Telstra.

[Swannie]

I used MOG for a little while.  Same price as Spotify but its unmetered on Telstra.

X2 to MOG unmetered with Telstra and I like the radio option that creates a playlist by artist, genre etc...

Swannie