Spotify: Free Music Everywhere!

Spotify: Free Music Everywhere!

By: Bhavini Mistry and Christina Naphor 

Is it true? Is there really a music application that is readily accessible anytime and everywhere?  Yes, it is true! The answer is Spotify! Spotify is a free downloadable application for anyone, in any country, to use and it is the most triumphant application over other well-known music programs because of its vast and limitless features.

Spotify is a new, more efficient way to listen to music for college students. Usually, students go on YouTube or buy songs on iTunes to listen to their favorite songs. However, with Spotify, they can listen to their music for free! No downloads, no payment! All you have to do is download the program on your computer or pay for the app on your phone, iPod, or tablet. In addition to downloading Spotify, you have to create an account, but there is also an option where you can login through Facebook to use it. In contrast, iTunes is nothing like that. For iTunes, you have to use or create an email address, add billing information, and then pay money for the music. Unlike iTunes, Spotify is becoming the most popular music program for students of all ages. Another difference between Spotify and iTunes is that with Spotify, you can search by mood! Whether you’re feeling angry, happy, or sad, they have a countless number of playlists for any mood.

Also, you can search by what you are doing such as relaxing, working out, sleeping, or even hanging out with friends. They have a playlist for literally every occasion! On the other hand, iTunes does not give refunds to the things you buy since you enter your account password before buying the item. Therefore, you have lost your money and will regret buying that Twilight album which is now forever in your library. Overall, Spotify outnumbers iTunes or any other music site by its interminable diversity of playlists and free music!

Spotify is both very fun and simple to use! It’s available for the Apple and Windows operating systems as well as smart phones and iPods. Literally, it’s accessible almost everywhere! Spotify is awesome because even with a free subscription, you can do almost anything with it with its great included features. The only thing that “limits” you in your free listening enjoyment is the ads that consistently pop up. However, you can eliminate that problem and buy a monthly subscription ($4.99 or $9.99 a month) to remove those ads and unlock even more of Spotify’s prestigious features!

https://www.spotify.com/us/#premium

You do not even need a credit or debit card to purchase monthly subscriptions of Spotify anymore; now gift cards are offered at your nearest 7/11. So what are you waiting for? Go download and enjoy even a free subscription, of Spotify, with all of its great aspects!

On the top, left hand side, the Main folder includes several subfolders: Browse, Discover, Follow, Messages, Play Queue, and Devices.

With the Browse Feature, the options are limitless! When it is clicked, it brings you to a screen where the listener has the option to browse through music through genres, new releases, music-related news, featured playlists, and much more; if you find a playlist you like, you can even follow it! 

Under the Discover link, the user literally can discover new artists through personalized recommendations from music you listen to or from music artists/friends listen to that you follow on your account; it even shows when the artists you follow. In addition to discovering music, you can either “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” the songs you listen to tailor the discover page to your liking. Clicking on the Follow page shows suggestions on who to follow whether its Facebook friends or artists recently listened to.

The messages feature is a great tool; you can send songs to your friends and have a conversation with them about it! Under the Queue tab, it shows your recent history and the queue that is set up. Lastly, with the devices feature, Spotify can be used to sync your MP3s to your iPod and it can be used to sync your music from Spotify to an android or iPhone through a shared Wi-Fi connection with your computer.

Spotify also has a fantastic apps feature! It has three subfolders: App Finder, Top Lists, and Radio. App Finder shows all of the featured and top apps to download; yes, they are all completely free! The apps are all music related and range from the Billboard Top Charts to Song Lyric Catalogs and even Essential Classics. The Top Lists show what songs and albums are in the Top 100 in not only your country, but also the world.

Also, the Radio is set up similarly to Pandora. It builds a station off of an artist or song that you pick! With each song that pops up, you have the opportunity to thumbs up or thumbs down it to personalize the songs that will play next for you in sequence, whether its similar to a song you clicked “thumbs up” for or avoiding a type of song you clicked “thumbs down” for.

The Radio page even shows recommended stations based on the artists and songs you like; you can also listen to the radio for a certain genre you like, ranging from the 70s to Electronic to even Latin!

Furthermore, the Collection folder is broken up into three parts as well: Library, Local Files, and Starred. The Collection folder consists of music the listener owns and likes.  The Library is a compilation of all the music you starred, imported, bought, or added to a playlist. With the Local Files feature, you do not even need iTunes. Any music you own on your computer can be synced with your iPod, iPhone, or Android device.  Spotify allows you to have the possibility of saving space on your computer by combining the aspect of iTunes into their program!

Another cool feature of Spotify is the Starred Music Folder. When you discover a song that you like, you can “star” it and it will be placed into a Starred Playlist! This starred playlist is an easy way to keep track of songs you like listening to without deciding what specific playlist to place it into. 

Speaking of playlists, you can build your own playlists on Spotify! And if you have a Spotify premium account ($9.99 a month, no commitments), you can download these playlists on any device, even your laptop, to be played offline. Every Spotify user has the option of following playlists that they like, and anyone can follow your public playlists you create; yes, you can make private playlists (just in case you do not want any of your followers knowing that you secretly like One Direction or the Jonas Brothers or something else equally embarrassing :) ). When listening, you can put Spotify on shuffle or even repeat your favorite tunes. You can share these playlists, as well as songs you listen to, to your friends in messages or to your Facebook wall, if you connect your Spotify account to Facebook.

The people you follow show up on your activity feed and notifications.

Usually, notifications notify when a person follows you, or a playlist you made, or when an artist that you follow releases a new song or album. The activity feed that appears on the right hand side is all of the activity from the people you follow in one convenient place! It shows what your friends and artists you like had listened to. The feed also shows when someone shares, creates, or follows a new playlist; or even when a person you follow shares a track or album that they enjoyed! It even shows when artists/friends update their current playlists!

Searching for something has never been easier! Just begin typing a song’s, an album’s, or even a user or artist’s name and results will instantly pop up before you even type two letters! You have the option to show all results, click on the Top Hit of your search, choose a track, or click on a user.

So, it is true; Spotify is simple and free for everyone to use! It is accessible anytime and anywhere. With access to millions of songs for free, why say no? It is so fun to use and Spotify is easily the best, most efficient music application out there. As an added bonus, it is so easy to download and to get started on listening to your favorite tunes today!
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