The choices for streaming music services in the United States has just expanded today with the inclusion of formerly EU-only Spotify. The music service boasts a large collection of songs that users can select from and play at will. Unlike services such as Pandora, this means that they aren’t confined to radio stations, but rather the ability to play specific songs, artists, and albums, as much as they want, whenever they want. It also interfaces with your existing music collection as well.
The service has launched with a free, ad-supported plan, as well as two additional plans. The Unlimited version lets you remove ads, while the Premium version also lets you play Spotify songs on your phone. These are priced at $4.99 and $9.99, respectively.
Of course, during the time it took for Spotify to come ashore in the United States, other services have been building up, such as Rdio, Rhapsody (which has actually been around for a long time), MOG, and the Zune pass. This means that there will be plenty of competition for them to go up against, but Spotify has been gaining plenty of attention in tech media outlets ever since it released in Europe, which could help build some name recognition, even in the US.
Either way, for those of you wanting to take advantage of high quality music streaming, the service is now here. It is working plenty well, too – I’m currently typing away at this article while enjoying some music. You can get access to the program by signing up on the official site. To access the service without waiting in a queue or paying money however, you have a few options. You can also check out the social network ranking site Klout, which is giving instant access (disclaimer: signing up via this link might just maybe help me get a premium account).
