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Spotify Form F-1

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261–270 of 382 posts

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does paying for Spotify actually help any artists meaningfully though? I've been wondering whether paying for a Bandcamp album every so often to match the cost of Spotify, and pirating music otherwise would actually benefit artists more. I've read that Spotify pays fractions of a cent per play, where as Bandcamp pays out quite well, better than iTunes and Google Play.

Bandcamp is good if you know what you want and they do pay out really, really well. If you want a streaming service more like Spotify you might also check out Resonate Cooperative https://resonate.is/ which has a stream-to-own model. Discovering new music is low cost, repeated listens double until the ninth, upon which you own the track outright. You can then download or stream that track for free. Still ramping up b…

Awesome idea - do they have more than a couple of artists though?

Personally I like a distinction between looking for music and having it DRM-free offline on my hard drive.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#262

I quit Spotify just recently and transferred to Apple Music. Main reason is because of their new policy on Family plan. I paid for a Family plan since its inception. Recently they updated their policy where every member of the Family plan must have the same address. My brother is working in another town and that doesn't mean we're no longer fam. That is one stupid policy.

Did you try contacting them? A divorced friend's daughter only lives with him at weekends, got cancelled from the family plan. He wrote them and got her added back.

I work away from home in another city weekdays and still in the family plan. If your brother never visits, I understand their rationale though.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#263
post #153
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you tell audio quality of Spotify vs Tidal in a blind test?

I spent several months alternating between Tidal HIFI and Spotify to see if I could difference on my Sennheiser HD800S and the Chord Mojo DAC and couldn't. I also tried the "Tidal Masters". It wasn't some complex blind test though. In the end, Spotify's content discovery was worth more to me, but if they finally release some lossless version for twice the price, I'll be happy to subscribe. Even at that price, one mon…

I've experienced a significant improvement listening to Tidal Masters tracks over Spotify. A very enjoyable improvement. Even non-Masters tracks on Tidal sound significantly better. Currently, almost all tracks on Tidal at the HiFi tier are 1411kbps (non-Masters) and still the Spotify desktop app caps out at 320kbps.

Spotify has been streaming 1411kbps for most tracks through their browser player in Chrome and only then I notice little difference between Spotify and Tidal HiFi. The Masters tracks still are noticeably better than the Spotify on Chrome app playing at 1411kbps.

There is an upside to streaming from the Spotify Chrome app for 1411kbps which doesn't incur extra cost but this is all functionality Spotify is not advertising. The downsides are this only currently works in the US (IIRC) and navigation in the Chrome Browser app is very limited compared to the desktop app.

I'm very surprised you were not able to notice a difference with such a great stack as the HD800s + Mojo and suspect it was something else in the chain limiting the potential. I suggest giving even just Spotify direct in the Chrome webapp a try again if not Tidal and ensure you have the chain configured properly.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bandcamp is good if you know what you want and they do pay out really, really well. If you want a streaming service more like Spotify you might also check out Resonate Cooperative https://resonate.is/ which has a stream-to-own model. Discovering new music is low cost, repeated listens double until the ninth, upon which you own the track outright. You can then download or stream that track for free. Still ramping up b…

Awesome idea - do they have more than a couple of artists though? Personally I like a distinction between looking for music and having it DRM-free offline on my hard drive.

Still early days -- only 2300 artists on 296 labels so far; but growing. It fits somewhere between Soundcloud, Bandcamp and Spotify.

https://resonate.is/in-the-details/status/

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can confirm. Countries in Latin America are getting plans for the equivalent of $1.5

how easy would it be to VPN to a LA country, signup for the plan and then just have service for $1.5?

id assume the catalog is different by region the way netflix is, so you might not get the music you expect for that price

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other side of this, I love how easy it is to find new music on Spotify! Every week, the "Discover Weekly" playlist nets me at least one or two new artists I end up loving.

If you ever get tired of Discover Weekly give JQBX[1] a try. I built it so that I could bust out of the same old genres Spotify tends to re-suggest every week. [1] https://www.jqbx.fm

Jason, this is amazing! Every few years I look for something that will be able to suggest new/different music to listen to, and the product gets killed.

Spotify used to have apps which had something like this (... I forget the name of the app), it's good to have a replacement.

I would happily pay $1 a month for this. Where is the $12 a year subscription?

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to use GPM and am now a Spotify customer. For starters, I was annoyed that Google removed some of its playlist interface around the activity-based radios. You'd click an activity and there would be several stations/playlists for different styles of music that were great for that general activity. Loved it. Now I can't find it anywhere. Second is the interface in general. Spotify realizes that especially on mob…

The album art bit I'll generally agree with, but for the activity bit... not to sound too harsh, but did you even try to find it after they did a minor redesign a while back? Menu ("..." on left in web) > Browse stations > Activities It's right there!

The change occurred ages ago so I might be forgetting details, but what I think was removed was a more curated way of matching stations with the activity, with descriptions for each. Now it is just a ton of radio stations that often seem unrelated, and no upfront description of what it is unless you click through. Just more giant thumbnails I don't need.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#268
post #96

Spotify is the reason why I don't pirate music anymore. I say this as someone who used to be involved in the scene (low level FXP couriering in the late 90s and early 00s) and has gigs of release from the RNS, EGO, etc days. It's much faster and convenient to use Spotify. I also think they cracked music discovery. Their discovery weekly playlist is stellar. My only wish is they'd get off Electron (EDIT Chromium - tha…

Their coverage of indie labels and the dance music underground still sucks. Plus I don't think their streaming is lossless and you can easily spot the difference with something as simple as a pair of $100 wireless headphones (NOT beats) hooked up to a $100 USB headphone amp.

You can take a look at Deezer, same service, same or even larger catalog than Spotify and IMHO better indie music collection.

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#269
There has been a lot of discussion over the fact they are direct listing, instead of a traditional IPO, and how that will affect the price. However, does anyone know their motivation for doing a direct listing in the first place? They're still paying invest bankers and being 'engaged' with Morgan Stanley. So what's their reasoning, besides shits & giggles?

Re: Spotify Form F-1

#270
I really like Spotify but I feel I'm soon going to rebuild an MP3 library. A mix of songs being removed (licensing), the apps being sluggish due to library size and local playlist features being rubbish for years. I've got enough "niche" read: game osts and that to make it worth while.

For anyone considering the same, beets (python) is your best friend

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