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Could someone please explain Spotify and/or last.fm please?
I don't use either and have, to my my knowledge, never been on either of their websites so I don't really know what they do. But I have a strange feeling that they are killing music.
So what are they? What do they actually do? Is it worth me signing up to either of them?
As far as I can tell, the only point of last.fm is to show that you're more indie than other people as it shows a list of what you've been listening to. It goes back to the idea that the internet has given nobodies the impression that other people they don't know care about their opinions.
Why in the name of dying cock would you prefer myspace!?
Unless you work in the music industry, checking out stuff way early. If it's on Spotify, you'd still rather be listening to shitting myspace?
I'm going to burn down your nipples.
"I only use Myspazz and Youtube to hear a record before I buy the vinyl."
You're officially the most indie, and, at the same stroke coolest, person who has ever frequented this website with their comments, thoughts or opinion.
Hats off, sir. Hats off.
technofear
Spotify is a database of music that you can listen to for free*, last fm takes note of all the music you listen to and does various things with the data like suggest bands that you might like, shows you when gigs are on that you'd probably want to go to, err, ask someone else.
PS don't bother with last fm, it's not that great
but spotify is pretty handy for listening to new albums and shizz.
what a weird post
it's a bit like being offered a drink in a pub, then bellowing out "what's this alcohol shit then? I suspect you're all idiots and it's fucking you up". Wikipedia it if you can't bring yourself to look at the sites themselves. Assuming you 'do' Wikipedia..?
this is wonderful
but then
how would he get a chance to tell us his interesting ideas that the internet is making people feel self important, while trying to sound superior but ultimately coming across as a bit dim? again?
indeed, it's a bit like saying wikipedia is killing knowledge
cos it ain't, it's just making it more available and distributed in new and different ways. knowledge still exists though.
but that assumes that royalties aren't paid, which they are, so your point is invalid
Surely this is the point of Last.fm >>>
http://nfrblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/drowned-in-sound-lastfm-stats.html
YEAH!!!!!
At the risk of responding to an idiotic thread:
I like Last.FM a lot. I can't get Spotify at work and there's no point having it at home so I have never seen it but I guess alot of the format is the same - band info customisable by the community?, lists of recommended stuff,listening history? I imagine it would be as useful for throwing on a load of tracks to listen to at work.
Last.Fm is frustrating becasue of the lack of full songs and the random playing of my library is not very random at all, but neighbourhood radio and recommended radios are really good.
This: "I have a strange feeling that they are killing music." is clearly not the case,and possibly the opposite.
wow, i never saw that before
good work. my name is even in there a few times :)
irrespective of cool things like this though, last fm is brilliant. iv found so much cool music using it.
here's some instant half formed responses/thoughts
money comes from subscription only streaming, adverts, sponsorship - all the usual ways magazines make money. I know people that pay subscriptions to websites to stream films instead of payign to go to the cinema. So llegal or not, people are willing to pay to stream - even if it's appalling quality.
The people that wouldn't buy music at all are probably the 'only buy 6 albums a year from Tesco' demographic.
I am sure streaming will overtake downloading, there is no sense in that not being the case for the casual listening majority, but that does not immediately equate to no money moving around.
Last.fm and Spotify ruining music?
They are the two shining lights in the shift in the music industry. Last.fm you can stream music and collate music data about what you play in a kind of social networking ind of way and Spotify. Well that just lets you hear music.
Go buy a cd then moan it's shit, i'll spotify it then buy it if it's great. :)
problem with that is
the industry used to rely on hawking a lot of shitty albums from singles bands/acts to people who would have not bothered if they'd heard more than the Hit Single first.
industry fail.
last.fm is great for geeky people, ie. most people on here
as it gives you stats and it's fun. it also gives you recommendations based on what you listen to, etc. you don't actually listen to your music on last.fm itself though.
spotify lets you stream music for free, assuming you know what streaming means, so it's a bit like a cross between itunes and youtube with no videos. yeah?
if you used them
you would not talk such superior nonsense my friend!
that article is a load of crap
it starts with fatally flawed facts and continues to repeat them. A terrible piece of foundationless writing.
The more you use those sites the more effective they become - becasue they are based on your listening habits, the more detail you provide of your habits the more subtle the detail it can give you back.
Don't suppose you know how databases work do you?
?
the financial model is unsustainable because it doesn't generate enough revenue?
the aesthetic model is unsustainable becasue it is formless and uncreative?
the social model - perfect?
the distribution model - perfect?
of course it is funded by major labels - they are the ones who need to make the money out of it.
I really meant the database of personal listening info getting greater in detail and scope the more you use it, so the primary function of the sites gets better/more intuitive with time.
i dunno
i spent last night listening to the "your neighbourhood" station and found plenty of new stuff
e.g
some Jesus & Mary Chain songs I'd never heard
a band called The Oohlas - very good
one of The Cardigan's side project band called A Camp - quite nice
some Italo Disco act called Ssion - ace
all in all it was worth it and totally tailored to my taste
Well, no not really.
Youtube and Myspace don't have anywhere near the recommending capabilities of last.fm
how is it bad for underground music?
there are tonnes of tiny bands on there, and unlike myspace it focusses on music and musical events rather than bratty kids trying to be popular and suck off the singer from some band.
i was talking about Last.fm
agreed, spotify isn't as good for amsll music, but really they probably need the money more. also, youtube is full of horrid quality bootlegs.
You've got this completely arse over tit.
The value of spotify (etc) is that even without catalogueing every single artist and track on the face of the planet there is still an absolute wealth of excellent music on there. It isn't designed to cater for the tastes of the most obscure remix-hunter; at the moment, it's designed to say "here's what we've got: take a look through, have a listen, and see if there's anyhing new that takes your fancy." It's great for getting people into the mindset for exploring new music with no (or little) cost; a possible outcome would be that you get people into that mindset, they'll start going on forums, hearing about new bands that only have one or two songs on spotify, and perhaps order a copy of the album instead.
People with very specific tastes will always have to delve (or at least they will for the forsseable, and I doubt they'd have it any other way); to ask for comprehensive service from a new, ad-supported/low-cost company that's still finding its feet in an industry that hasn't even found its own feet is utterly ridiculous.
i tend to ignore it for the most part
i'm just mentioning it cause i know loads of people love it
Err...
What a bit like getting recommended stuff by a friend who knows what you like? Ridiculous. Legwork? Why does finding music have to be a punishing regieme of trial and error?
i've got 65 friends!
They're not 58.
That's their post count.
and the user has plenty of other usernames on this website
i'm pretty sure nobody could scare off the original poster
ps
a lot of your posts are funny in that "special" way that only internet people can be. keep it up!
I buy so many more CDs because of last.fm and spotify
best applications on the internet and it definitely makes me spend more, so it's actually helping the music industry in that sense.
Yo
where's that spotify invite link pls?
you don't need an invite anymore
I thought that
apparently my friend IS being as much of a retard as I suspected.
"My friend"
he/she is posting in this thread as well
http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/music/4183840
"Spotify is corporate bollocks."
unlike youtube or myspace then!!!!!
teehee.
they certainly did about 5 years ago
what that your argument in this instance is based on un-factual information?
yeah. good one.
you know, right, you can use both spotify and last fm
without having a subscription?
there there, internet kook, just have a nap or something.
All of these things are ad-supported or have ad-supported versions
^
oh gareth, what can i do to stop (or at least diminish) my compulsions to argue with mongfaces on the internet? HELP ME.
The wise man considers the words of the fool with
dignity and humilty, for even follies may reveal new wisdom.
Urgh, I've mangled that quote!
Amaze.
The implication here is that before Spotify or Last.fm nobody was told what to listen to. This is, of course, true: I'm sure we all remember those halcyon days of walking into a record shop, closing our eyes, spinning round then picking up the first record that met out hands.
Or perhaps I'm remembering it wrong, and we used to get our recommendations from print reviews (cost/ad-supported), zines (often ad supported), or word of mouth from friends (which is of course a completely different concept from last.fm).
...
last fm is alright for some stats and stuff like that like the occasional dis banter but I've not been recomended anything good on it at all, I think I only use it still so I can have a little widget on my blog sayin what I'm listening to each week.
sportify doesnt really interest me at the moment, I find enough music as it is in my usual methods to bother with it. Plus it doesn't seem to good for alot of dance and electronic music and I love that stuff.
this is entirely different to most of the guff you come out with
You're an utter nappy.
I've tried to follow your argument in this thread but there doesn't appear to be a coherent one. I'm off to buy the Best of Jim Reeves. Good day.
I'm going to use this insult sometime
Your unfaltering belligerence is quite brilliant, Brightonb.
Bravo. Really, bravo.
When you go on YouTube to discover new music what do you type into the Search field? How do you decide what combination of keys to press before, finally, deciding it's time to press that Enter key?
Do you type in the name of a band/artist that you've read about? That someone has recommended to you? If so, you're being spoon-fed, mon frere. Make up your own mind, yeah?
Some people trust their favourite radio DJ. Some people just follow the charts. Some people use website that make recommendations based on their listening patterns. Some people use YouTube and MySpace; however people discover new music -- and then procure that in its physical or digital form -- shouldn't keep you awake at night. Really.
What's the problem here?
its basically an ok-ish mainstream record store, only you can't buy music, you can just listen to it. or like a library where you can't take stuff home.
what's there not to like? I mean there's no harm in getting to hear a lot of full albums just like that, or do you hate music?
anyway, i've bought alot of records I've fell for on spotify. music won't die, it will only live.