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Review: Spotify

Mac Windows

Since moving back to Canada, I haven’t been able to get my music fix with Pandora (listeners located outside of the U.S. can’t use Pandora). I’ve never been a huge Last.fm fan – the catalog of streamable music doesn’t include a lot of my favorite bands. In general, I’m just not a huge fan of online music services. Until now. Spotify, a lightweight Windows and OS X client, connects you to a vast collection of music. And it works outside of the US. Keep reading for my brief overview.

  1. Like most Web 2.0 services, Spotify is in a “limited beta testing” phase. Submit your email address and when a spot opens up, they’ll let you know you can create an account and download the software. It took about 2 months from the time I signed up until I received the email saying I could create an account. But good things come to those who wait.
  2. The interface is painfully user friendly (and identical for Windows and OS X). Once you sign in, you’re presented with the “home” screen.
  3. spotify os x interface
    click to enlarge

  4. Use the search box to find artists/songs. Your recent searches are saved in the sidebar for easy access at a later point.
  5. spotify search
    click to enlarge

  6. Just double-click a song to start playing.
  7. spotify playing a song
    click to enlarge

  8. Right-click (ctrl-click for single mouse-button Mac folks) a track to queue it, add it to a playlist or copy the HTTP/URI link to send to a friend (who will need to have a Spotify account in order to listen to the song).
  9. spotify interface right-click a track
    click to enlarge

  10. OS X users will enjoy Growl notification support built into Spotify.
  11. spotify growl

  12. If you want to listen to music without having to create a playlist, you can use the Radio feature. Radio allows you to specify the time-frame and genres of music you want to stream.
  13. spotify radio view
    click to enlarge

Posted in Mac, Reviews, Windows.

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6 Responses

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  1. kokyun says

    I wish to have one, do you still have any invitation code ?

  2. jp says

    got a 404 error when I clicked on the link:

    Not Found

    The requested URL / title= was not found on this server.
    Apache/2.2.3 (Debian) PHP/5.2.0-8+etch11 Server at http://www.spotify.com Port 80

  3. Ross McKillop says

    Thanks for catching that JP! I fixed the link…

  4. Ross McKillop says

    kokyun – it’s not a service that allows users to invite other users (at least, not yet). Otherwise I’d have offered up the invites here on Simple Help. If they ever do decide to let users invite, I’ll send one to you. For now I’d suggest filling out their beta-invite request form.

  5. FF says

    Hi, how did you make it work in Canada? When I try it just says this: Unfortunately, due to licensing restrictions we are not yet available in your country. We understand that you are currently in Canada… Would appreciate it if you know a way to go around this problem! Oh btw, some users do get to invite a couple of their friends (I know this from some of my friends in Europe).

  6. ej says

    Likewise I find this does not work in Canada, but this does:

    http://www.finetune.com



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