Spotify me up...

In yesterday's post (Take a load off downloads) I mentioned that my digital music purchasing has taken a nosedive since I have signed up to Spotify. I have had some queries from friends of Saffa Dude regarding what Spotify is, how it works and how to get hold of it. Basically many questions stopping just short of "can you eat it".

Here goes my short and simple explanation:

What is Spotify?
In their own marketing words: "Spotify is a new way to enjoy music. Simply download and install, before you know it you’ll be singing along to the genre, artist or song of your choice. With Spotify you are never far away from the song you want."
In Lamens Terms: Its a music streaming service where you install a music player on your PC and have access to millions of songs. You dont own the songs it is streamed from the internet so unfortunately you will need broadband. You can build playlists and buy songs directly from the player (check Take a load off downloads before you do this).


How much does it cost?
Its free, no really its free to stream music at a decent quality level. They do this by anoying you with a 30sec advertisement every 5 songs or so. Still better than radio.
You can sign up to their Premium service which extra functionality like downloading your playlists for off-line playing, no ads better quality and the ability to take your songs with you on your iPhone. You can even sign up for short periods, if you are hosting a party for instance and have built your playlist and want it to play ad-free.

How do I get it?
Because of high demand it is invite only at the moment (invites owned by premium customers), but there is a way of getting round the invite section in certain countries. You will just have to try and see. Click this link to try and sign up invite free.

OK, I've signed up and Installed . Now what?
Start searching for your favourite artists and building your own playlists and bang them on in the background whenever you need to.

To start you up I am sharing a playlist made by a friend with some wicked tunes. Once you have installed the software just click the link to Saffa Dude's Tunes and open it in spotify...

Happy Listening and Stay Classy...