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Sunday, August 28, 2011

SPOTIFY !

What is the best form for music consumption ? Yes, you guessed it right, free. So spotify gives users free music( You do have the paid service too) to users and synchronizes that to the phone ( Only if it’s an android or an Iphone. You know WP7 always catches up)

The best aspect to this service is, getting all the music you want for free and above all, you are not labeled a pirate Winking smile. Listen to unlimited songs, and synchronize them for free and listen to them on the go. You could also synchronize them to your phone for offline listening. I would not have to stress on the fact that , from Anna’s fast to Aishwarya’s pregnancy, everything is social. So why would you think that Spotify is going to fall behind? Yes, spotify can help you discover your friends’ favorite tracks, if they have made it public and share your tracks with your friends.

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You can use spotify as a paid or a free user. A paid user would see no advertisements. As a paid user you are free to listen to the songs offline too once synchronized to your phone or other music device.

Spotify’s Business Model

Every time a user listens to a song, Spotify pays the music label and you can either pay a monthly fee, or have an ad filled music experience. You can find more information about the expectations pre-launch in pre release link  . This link has some important marketing documents that’s worth a look

I believe that the spotify experience is simply better than the ones that are available in the US right now. Another important positive step that Spotify has taken, is the well defined tiers for its paid and free customers. There is enough value, if one may want to consider jumping to the higher tiers. Another game changer could be, teaming up with facebook and providing a streaming music service, which is already provided by others, but still worth a chance, considering the immense visibility that facebook possesses.

The advertisements are not intrusive and Spotify has tried to keep it in an area close to its streaming music service. I have seen ads that are from recently released music labels which I believe is creatively brilliant.

In summary, I think Spotify is a great service and an innovative model that is able to make both the labels and users feel that they are getting the better end of the stick.

Worth a try

Friday, August 05, 2011

New York

The summer of 2011, turns out to be one I will relish for a long time. Reasons aplenty from getting to stay with long time buddies to experiencing USA in its entirety. This city has the sting and is addictive.
For starters, I got an offer to do my Internship with IBM this summer and no surprises, I accepted it. I knew I loved NYC but my experience had very little to do with Manhattan but with the people I interacted out here. From long talks about <insert anything here, from US politics to famine in Somalia> to just aimlessly trudging the streets of Manhattan. Getting to roam the streets of Manhattan that I have only seen in my favorite TV soaps was so exciting. I do realize why they rave so much about this place, and you would to, when you stay here for at least a week.
Walking along Hudson is tranquil which I failed to take complete advantage of. Given a chance again, I would like to take more walks along this serenity. The public transport was icing on the cake, taking you to all the places you would ever want to in Manhattan in a jiffy.
Work wise (Oh I came here for that) I have had so much to learn but I think the change in my personality would be attributed to my experience with the people here.
I did go through some tough times personally but the waterfront here goes the extra mile to pull you out of trouble. Well it tried its best. Smile 
My life seems less disciplined, but hell who cares, the experience just makes up for it.