Facebook’s recent partnership with Spotify is one of the good things it has done recently. With all of the criticism they are receiving about privacy concerns, the music sharing website is an excellent acquisition. The launch of the service in the US has changed the way people listen to and search for music.
Spotify has two ways of making money. They have advertisements plastered all over their software and on their streaming music service. They also have a premium service which has very limited advertising and also gives you more features like mobile use, chances to win concert tickets, and the opportunity to hear new music before it even comes out.
The days of scouring YouTube for singles is over. Spotify has a library of songs available for instant stream. If you star a song, it will be placed in your library. Premium users can access these songs even when they are not online.
Facebook wants to tap the market for mobile phones in a bad way. By purchasing premium access to Spotify, you can access their cloud computing network and listen to songs in your library wherever you are. If you have a 3G or 4g Wireless internet connection, it is possible to have your entire music collection along with you in the car even if your device does not hold a lot of gigs.
Like Pandora, Last.fm, and whole slew of other websites, Spotify offers a streaming radio service that plays songs in a single genre at random. What’s unique about this is that you can cross different genres to get new music results. It is possible to listen to heavy metal electronica from the 70′s and then switch to a hardcore latin soul song. While the combinations might make you question what you’re listening to, they are there.
One of the criticisms from old-school Spotify users is that it is requiring a Facebook account for you to access the service. This is kind of a slap in the face to past loyal people, because Facebook is making its content and personal data storage less private with the new timeline repackaging. Another complaint is that the service automatically posts what you listen to to your Facebook profile. Even if you don’t listen to anything embarassing, your friends can put Phil Collins’ Greatest Hits on your computer for all of Facebook to see.
If you are worried about privacy concerns, the answer is simple… don’t use Spotify.
