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Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

torrentfreak.com

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Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#31

Post by brainfire »

pmarreck wrote: post #24
lettergram wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not telling you not to use their service, my wife (for example) continues to use Spotify. However, I personally will never use their service again. When they thought it was alright to use my network (that I pay for) to make money, then I have a right to turn my back on them. Questionable legality is one thing, I personally could care less about laws. I break probably 5 or 6 laws an hour. Laws have nothing to do a…

The issue I'm taking with this is that Spotify did not try to hide, be cagey or act deceptively about the p2p aspect of their design at all; in fact here is a 2011 article on an academic paper on the design http://pansentient.com/2011/04/spotify-technology-some-stats... and here is a question-and-answer from their support community about it, from 2013: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Linux-Windows-Web-P... H…

So how many journals and forums do you subscribe to in order to find out what the programs installed on your computer are doing?

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#32

Post by LordKano »

pmarreck wrote: post #28
LordKano wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some transgressions that people don't forgive easily or at all. I have been taking part in a one man boycott of Nintendo for over 20 years. Not that it hurts them. Not that they care. I was just done with them.

I hesitate to ask, but what did Nintendo do to justify this lifetime ban? ;) (also, I kind of want a Switch, but anyway)

The way they butchered what was my all-time favorite arcade game "Killer Instinct" with the SNES port and then KI Gold for the N64.

I have never been able to forgive the company.

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#33

Post by rhaps0dy »

What does the author mean by this?

"For a company that has attracting pirates built into its DNA, it’s perhaps fitting that it tempted them with the same bait found on pirate sites. Certainly, the company’s history of a pragmatic attitude towards piracy means that few will be shouting ‘hypocrites’ at the streaming platform now."

What is this attitude to piracy that will prevent them from being called hypocrites? I do think that aiming to eliminate piracy while using it is hypocritical.

Unless they needed to use that pirated music to reduce pirated music overall, in which case they did well from a consequentialist standpoint.

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#34

Post by redbergy »

lettergram wrote: post #11
pmarreck wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hence I'll never go back. So basically, you're saying that since they (according to you) weren't plastering news about their P2P design across all their marketing (as if most people would even be able to understand that, from a marketing perspective), and DESPITE the fact that it was well-known enough for academic papers in 2011 to be written on the design ( http://pansentient.com/2011/04/spotify-technology-some-st…

I'm not telling you not to use their service, my wife (for example) continues to use Spotify. However, I personally will never use their service again. When they thought it was alright to use my network (that I pay for) to make money, then I have a right to turn my back on them. Questionable legality is one thing, I personally could care less about laws. I break probably 5 or 6 laws an hour. Laws have nothing to do a…

I make no argument with your position (in fact fully agree you should vote with your wallet in this case) but I think it should be pointed out you most certainly gave consent to allow them to use your network when you agreed to their terms by using their service. I can't imagine anyone who reads every line before they sign up for a service or install software so I understand why you feel the way you do. Objectively, to me, it feels like more of a moral gray area than completely immoral.

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#35

Post by pmarreck »

brainfire wrote: post #31
pmarreck wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue I'm taking with this is that Spotify did not try to hide, be cagey or act deceptively about the p2p aspect of their design at all; in fact here is a 2011 article on an academic paper on the design http://pansentient.com/2011/04/spotify-technology-some-stats... and here is a question-and-answer from their support community about it, from 2013: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Desktop-Linux-Windows-Web-P... H…

So how many journals and forums do you subscribe to in order to find out what the programs installed on your computer are doing?

This is not a counterargument. P2P is not something that most people would understand and thus, including it in marketing materials would turn people off. Thus, not including it in marketing materials is not a sign of intentional deception. I can't go back in time but I bet if you googled "spotify p2p" or "spotify architecture" in 2012 you'd find a wealth of information on it

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#36

Post by pmarreck »

LordKano wrote: post #32
pmarreck wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hesitate to ask, but what did Nintendo do to justify this lifetime ban? ;) (also, I kind of want a Switch, but anyway)

The way they butchered what was my all-time favorite arcade game "Killer Instinct" with the SNES port and then KI Gold for the N64. I have never been able to forgive the company.

err... did you ever consider that perhaps those systems weren't actually powerful enough to support the "full" Killer Instinct experience, so there was no way for it not to seem "downgraded" from the real deal?

(I was in my early 20's when that came out in the arcades. I remember it well)

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#37

Post by mcculley »

lettergram wrote: post #2

One thing I noticed a few years ago, was that Spotify was using a massive amount more upload bandwidth than download. Upon digging it actually appeared they were streaming FROM my computer, similar to how a torrenting system works. I'm assuming their current platform is doing something similar. If this is indeed the case, they can stream music to everyone's phones / computers, then use their network to stream to thei…

I noticed the same use of upload bandwidth. Worse, using dtruss on Mac OS, I could tell that it was reading files out of places other than where it was installed (e.g., ~/Music/). There was no way to tell what files it was exfiltrating from our network. I had to ban use of Spotify in my company for this reason.

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#38

Post by thrownhwn »

Kiro wrote: post #9

Yes, if you used Spotify Beta it was very obvious. On release the library was reduced to a fragment of its former self. It was also something everyone said: "in the Beta they used the employees' MP3 libraries, that's why it used to be so good".

Can confirm. Spotify had a dedicated server at a notorious ISP that downloaded quality mp3 warez from TPB among other places. Scene people were also present at their release party.

I'm happy they succeeded. It's an awesome service built by some very skilled hackers. I wish there was a Spotify for movies and TV series too.

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#39

Post by suneilp »

pmarreck wrote: post #25
radlad wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the parent's point was that people and companies make mistakes. Voting with your wallet is a great idea -- often times when I pull funding from a company for a perceived slight, if they react to my vote, I'll vote again by paying for their service.

I was making that point, and ALSO the point that the perceived slight was purely in the eye of the beholder, I edited my comment to add a link to a 2011 academic paper on Spotify's P2P architecture that proves that they were not being cagey or secretive about this part of the design, it was already "out there" and if it just so happened to first cross this guy's radar when he saw the outbound traffic on his own netwo…

So now every ordinary person is going to read academic papers to ensure that a service or product meets decent moral and ethical standards?

If it wasn't on their website designed for selling, then they don't really have an excuse. That is the spot where those kind of details should be mentioned.

Re: Spotify’s Beta Used ‘Pirate’ MP3 Files, Some from Pirate Bay

#40

Post by thrownhwn »

rhaps0dy wrote: post #33

What does the author mean by this? "For a company that has attracting pirates built into its DNA, it’s perhaps fitting that it tempted them with the same bait found on pirate sites. Certainly, the company’s history of a pragmatic attitude towards piracy means that few will be shouting ‘hypocrites’ at the streaming platform now." What is this attitude to piracy that will prevent them from being called hypocrites? I do…

Piracy is also a form of convenience. What you want, when you want it. No stupid geographic delayed releases, no stupid DRM where you have to prove you're not a thief every time you want to access the content, no internet connectivity requirements, etc.
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