Spotify, the European music service that debuted in the U.S. last week, garnered a great deal of attention, and not just in radio broadcast circles.
For many, the first question was: How does Spotify differ from what is already available? Pandora, Rhapsody, Last.fm, Slacker, etc. already exist; why another “music service?”
Spokeswoman Angie Newman of Splendid Communications provided Radio World with a list of talking points that succinctly summarizes how the service sees itself in relation to the market (note that the wording is verbatim from Spotify):
Spotify vs. Rdio
-Spotify offers 15 million songs, while Rdio has less than 9 million songs.
-Rdio does not allow local file integration while Spotify allows users to access their own music from within the service.
Spotify vs. Rhapsody
-Spotify offers cloud storage while Rhapsody does not.
-Spotify is available on Android, iPhone, Windows, Symbian and Palm phones with 5 million more available songs overall.
-Spotify’s service is $5 less per month for unlimited access to songs.
Spotify vs. MOG
-Spotify offers 15 million songs, while MOG only offers 11 million.
-Spotify offers cloud storage while MOG does not.
-MOG is only available on Android & iOS phones. Spotify is also available on Windows, Symbian and Palm phones.
-MOG does not allow local file integration while Spotify allows users to access their own music from within the service.
Spotify vs. eMusic
-Spotify offers on-demand and cloud storage while eMusic does not.
-Monthly eMusic subscribers may pay up to $79.99 to download songs, vs. Spotify’s $10/month membership for unlimited access to its catalog.
-Spotify offers access to 3 million more songsthan eMusic.
-eMusic does not allow local file integration while Spotify allows users to access their own music from within the service.
(An eMusic spokeswoman took issue with the above. She wrote: “The average eMusic member pays $11.99 per month to download up to 24 songs that they own forever. Members can use their preferred player and take their files wherever they want. eMusic members in the U.S. have access to 13 million tracks. We also offer curated editorial features from our highly regarded editorial team. … Our members are passionate about owning music. They’re not a community that want to rent music. Streaming gives them the opportunity to listen and preview new stuff, but they still want to own music.”)
Spotify vs. Napster
-Spotify offers cloud storage and is available on Android, iPhone, Windows, Symbian and Palm phones.
-Spotify offers users access to 15 million songs compared to 13 million for Napster users.
-Napster is not available free, users must pay between $5 and $10 for access.
-Napster does not allow local file integration while Spotify allows users to access their own music from within the service.
Spotify vs. Pandora
-Pandora allows users access to digital radio only, while Spotify offers on demand, offline access, cloud storage and access to over 14 million more songs.
-Spotify allows users to share content on Facebook, Twitter and more while Pandora does not offer any social features.
Spotify vs. Slacker
-Spotify offers cloud storage and 6 million more available songs.
Spotify vs. Last.fm
-Spotify offers on demand and cloud storage while Last.fm doesn’t.
-Spotify allows users to listen offline while Last.fm does not.
– Last.fm does not allow local file integration while Spotify allows users to access their own music from within the service.
Spotify vs. MP3Tunes.com
-MP3Tunes.com only allows users to access music they have already purchased from other services, whereas Spotify provides on demand, cloud storage, streaming and social features.
-MP3Tunes.com is only available on Android & iOS mobile systems, while Spotify is additionally available for Windows, Symbian and Palm systems.
Spotify vs. Amazon Cloud Player
-Spotify offers on demand, streaming and instant scan + match local file integration. Amazon Cloud Player only uploads songs into the cloud, which can take weeks.
-Amazon Cloud Player is only available on Android phones, while Spotify is available for iOs, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Palm.
Spotify vs. Apple iCloud
-Spotify offers on demand music streaming.
-Apple iCloud does not offer any social features.
-Apple iCloud is only available for iOS mobile apps, vs. Spotify’s availability on iOS, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile & Palm phones.
Spotify vs. Sirius XM
-Spotify provides on demand and cloud storage, Sirius XM does not offer customers these services.
-Sirius does not offer any social features while Spotify does.
-Spotify allows users access to songs offline while Sirius does not.
