In the ever-changing world of high-tech gadgets and gizmos, a whole load of jargon is thrown our way that many of us don’t necessarily understand.
In our regular series What is… we tackle a tech term or object and explain what it means so you can understand it a bit more.
Here we explain Spotify, an online streaming service that is changing the way we consume music.
What is Spotify?
Spotify is a leading music streaming provider, which allows users to listen to music using an internet connection.
There are more than 30 million tracks on Spotify, accessible at the click of a button on PCs, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, PlayStations and many more devices.
All you need is an internet connection to play the tracks, although you can download tracks to listen to when you’re without a connection, but only with a paid subscription.
How much does Spotify cost?
Spotify offers both free and paid subscription types.
The free account allows you to play any artist, album or playlist in shuffle mode (where tracks are randomly selected). But you can’t select tracks individually as you please, and adverts will be played between every few tracks.
The paid account costs £9.99 a month, which gives you unlimited access to Spotify’s entire catalogue. There are no ads, you can download tracks to play offline - so you don’t always need an internet connection or use your monthly data allowance - and take advantage of better sound quality.
Spotify also offers discounts for families who require more than one account, and students.
What can I listen to on Spotify?
Spotify caters to a range of musical tastes and recently gained the Beatles’ back catalogue along with other streaming services.
There are a few omissions, however, namely Prince’s back catalogue, as well as Adele and Taylor Swift’s latest albums. Both have spoken out against their music being made available in the free subscription. This is because they don’t believe the royalties offered by Spotify and others are fair.
What other music streaming services are there?
Spotify is not the only music streaming service around. Other big names include Deezer, Tidal, Napster, Amazon Prime Music and Google Play Music.
Read more about the different streaming services: Make your music mobile with downloading and streaming services.
Do I need Spotify?
Spotify is a great way of trying new music, especially if you have a mobile phone or tablet. They offer a 30-day free trial of the premium subscription, so it could be a good way to see whether it’s right for you. You can cancel at any time too.
But remember, this is a streaming service, not download. This means you can’t keep a copy on your computer or other device – the offline mode allows you to keep tracks within the app. So you don’t get to keep tracks even if you decide to leave afterwards.
If you’ve got lots of CDs that you’re happy with already, it may not be worth using a streaming service. But if you’re looking for old classics you don’t already own, Spotify could still be of interest.
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