When my buddy DataThug first told me about Spotify a few months ago, I thought it was just another one of those fly-by-night ideas that some techie made up in order to gain notoriety. I figured as long as it dealt with music I would give it a whirl, being that Pandora was getting real jiggy on my last nerves. (what do you mean my “listening experience” has expired? It’s only the 10th day of the month!)

So I signed up.

To all of my unbelievers, let me break it down for you:

With Spotify you can type in virtually any song and listen to it for FREE. Click on the artist’s name and you gain access to their entire discography, including any side projects they’ve been on. (soundtracks, etcetera.)

Having a party and need some tunes or going to get your fitness on and want to add songs to playlists? Done. (this function came in handy when the company I work for threw a pool party last month and lacked a DJ. I created a kick-butt playlist from my desk…right from my phone.)

Setbacks: (well, sort of.)
You can access Spotify from your home computer or laptop for free, and while you can listen to however many songs you want, when you want, and from where you want, you’ll have to deal with an annoying ad or two. But if you want an ad-free experience and the ablility to access it via-mobile phone, a premium membership is only $10/mo. Trust me…its worth it. And if you really think about it, you spend that much in 3 days on Starbucks.

Pros: It’s awesome. It’s like iTunes on crack. The end.

I will end by saying this: I haven’t completely given up on Pandora. Whenever I don’t want to be in control of the music I listen to or whenever I need suggestions on songs I’ve heard before, Pandora will be my go-to. Until then…it’s going to be Team Spotify. Sorry Pandora.

p.s. – if you don’t want to wait the initial 24 hours to get up and going, I have 9 more invitations left. And if you ever want some awesome musical guidance I have constructed several playlists according to mood, genre, and randomness. ….your boy has you covered.

My screenname is: koldestwinter. Look me up!
And you can also:

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Photos courtesy of figurethingsout.com & lovefortech.com