For many people around the world, listening to music via streaming has become a habit to accompany daily tasks such as going to the gym, classes or commuting to work. In this regard, Spotify has positioned itself as the most popular music streaming app with a user base of more than 600 million users. Although the app can be used free of charge, a considerable number of users chooses to pay the Premium version.
The platform offers the music catalog of thousands of popular artists as well as regional musicians from each country, making it easy for new audiences to discover them.
One of Spotify's main achievements is that it has significantly reduced music piracy through free listening via the free version, which pays artists with ads in between tracks.
Features and Spotify premium
The app, launched in 2008, has more than 100 million songs available, as well as podcasts and music videos that can be accessed by just downloading the app and making an account. The base version of Spotify features the ability to save songs to the library, as well as create playlists and share them freely via a link.
Spotify also offers a high level of customization in the settings menu, varying from audio quality to features such as crossfade between songs. The limitations of the free version are mainly the shuffle playback and the limit of forwarding songs to 6 per hour, in addition to the playback of periodic ads between songs and the need for constant internet connection to keep streaming.
Access to the premium account provides many benefits, such as the removal of ads, the option to choose songs freely and the ability to listen to music offline. It also allows premium users to listen to songs before their release and download them for offline listening.
Availability
Spotify is available in more than 185 countries and on a wide variety of devices and operating systems. The app can be used on Android and iOS phones and tablets, as well as Windows and macOS computers. It can also be opened on browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It is also available on Smart TVs.
Other features
- Podcasts: Spotify has a specific section to upload podcasts, which must already be uploaded to another platform, since the app works as a distributor. However, users can make use of Anchor, an app associated with Spotify that provides tools for creating and editing podcasts.
- Artist profile: The app allows the creation of profiles so that artists can upload and share their music freely on the platform. However, they can only do so through a digital distributor or a record label that meets Spotify's legal requirements and standards.
- Spotify Wrapped: This is a campaign launched by the platform where users can view and interact with the music they have listened to most throughout the year. It covers activity recorded from January 1 to October 31 and compiles data such as most listened to songs, favorite artists and minutes listened per year.
- Playlists: Using the algorithm, Spotify creates playlists based on the user's tastes and preferences, differentiated by style, mood, or region. In addition, it offers a wide selection of playlists to discover artists that are outside the user's radar, also categorized in the same way.
Final thoughts and opinion
Personally, we think Spotify meets the requirements for those who need a casual way to listen to music, with practical features such as playlists and the user-friendly way of sharing music between users; further developing these tools with its paid version.
However, people who require a more in-depth experience may find themselves needing more than the app can provide in terms of audio quality, artist recommendations and customization of the listening experience. For those looking for a more comprehensive approach, we would recommend apps like Apple Music or SoundCloud.
