Spotify

[EchoDelta]

I began using it about 2 months ago, just the regular subscription so it doesn't cost anything. While I did buy a digital album recently, it's really made me think about not buying again. Almost every artist is on there and accessible.

Anyone else use it?

[ArchAngel]

I use it occasionally. More of a supplement to my music library and a way to find new artists or songs.

[Deepfreeze32]

I use Spotify almost exclusively these days. Though you know your music tastes are interesting when you've lost count of the number of artists who are missing albums you like on Spotify, or who aren't there at all.

I'm a premium subscriber, simply because it made managing my mobile music collection way, way easier. It's hecka convenient.

[epsons]

Fun fact: Artists get, on average, about half a cent per stream on Spotify. And that's before the label takes their cut.
Source: personal experience

[ArchAngel]

Yeah, that's been a damper on my Spotify/Pandora usage. I've seen the number of plays, and how much an artist gets and it's been a downer for me. I don't really care for the big pop stars, but I prefer smaller, more independent artists and I want them to get their monetary compensation.

[Deepfreeze32]

If I really like an album, I'll buy it. As I did with a couple Radioactive Watermelon releases. (Hat tip to you, epsons)

But Spotify is nice for "trialing" music (Listening to an album without the hassle of YouTube) and managing my music library. And the artist at least gets some compensation (Albeit not very much), whereas with YouTube it's a little less clear who gets ad revenue.

[ArchAngel]

If the artist owns the channel, it's them. They get a fair bit more on youtube, so I end up on youtube more for music.

But yeah, Spotify and Pandora works well for exploration, so I would use them for that.

[epsons]

If I really like an album, I'll buy it. As I did with a couple Radioactive Watermelon releases. (Hat tip to you, epsons)

But Spotify is nice for "trialing" music (Listening to an album without the hassle of YouTube) and managing my music library. And the artist at least gets some compensation (Albeit not very much), whereas with YouTube it's a little less clear who gets ad revenue.

And a hat tip to you sir.

I have no problem with using Spotify that way (it just released in Canada, and I've started using it myself); I'm just wary of people increasingly using it instead of buying music, and that's why they all should be aware of how little artists actually get from it. It may not make much of a difference to someone as small as me in the grand scheme of things, but more or less anyone who makes a living from music has reason to be gravely concerned about the shift towards streaming... streaming sites can provide artists with an enormous potential for exposure, but they really should start paying more reasonable royalty rates.