Spotify Logo
I started using Spotify yesterday. Based on the hype, I was preparing to be let down. Instead of starting with the premium version, I decided to give the free version a try.
First of all, Spotify has been in Europe for about four years. This is not a beta product. In fact, it is one of the best experiences with a new app I have ever had. It is easy, slick, and fast. The desktop client is very fast! It is definitely faster than iTunes by a wide margin (at least in my mind).
Then there was the user experience after set up. Phenomenal. Every song, album, and version I could ever listen to. I am sure there is obscure music that is missing, but I don’t care about it anyway. When I figured out that I had to pay for mobile streaming to my iPhone I did so in short order. The downloading of songs onto my phone for times when I am offline was not that fast. That is my only real complaint.
The social and sharing features are bonuses. I can see Facebook friends on Spotify and all their playlists. This only makes me realize how little music I listened to before yesterday.
Before yesterday I was mainly a talk radio guy. However, Spotify made me want to find and listen to music. Now, when I am at my computer I am listening to music. When I am not at my computer, I am listening to music streaming on my iPhone. This is a dramatic behavioral change for me.
I spent around 20 minutes yesterday deleting much of the music from my library. No sense in it taking up hard drive space. I think many people will do the same
So, How Can Spotify Get Better?
Turntable.fm
I would like Spotify and Turntable.fm to have a baby. I love Spotify’s ease of use and full library of music. I love Turntable.fm for the music curation by relative strangers and small group interaction in rooms…not to mention the funky helmets cool DJ’s get to wear. If Spotify had a Turntable.fm feature, I would be listening and engaging with the app all the time, not just listening passively. It would be the complete music app.
I no longer have use for iTunes for music and Apple should be concerned about this. If I am Apple and sitting on $60 bazillion in cash, I would break off a chunk and pick up Spotify and Turntable.fm and ensure future music dominance on the web.
