Apparently, the music industry is currently in crisis. Illegal sharing of leaked album files is hitting artists and record labels hard. Therefore, they are turning to more creative methods to control the distribution of their new music. A favorite tactic seems to involve giving your music away: Beady Eye recently made their first single available via free download, for example. In addition to helping them control the flow of their new music, this also provides additional marketing benefits down the road: getting email addresses and demographic information from their fans.
However, the most popular method used to combat network effects is to play the same game and monitor new releases online (blogs, music reviews, etc.). Music streaming websites have now become the go-to place to legitimately listen to your favorite artist’s new album or single for free and in most cases before its official release.
Let’s take a look at some of these music streaming sites.
1) Spotify
The king of music streaming sites is Spotify. Launched in 2008, Spotify’s ever-growing database now has just about every song you can think of. Designed with the same useful features as regular desktop media players (playlists, favorite tracks/artists, etc.), Spotify’s recent ‘social media update’ now allows users to share their music preferences with their friends. Extensive artist biographies and suggested additional listening features give Spotify the feel of a complete online music community.
Spotify used to be free for everyone (the only downside was that the free option came with ads), but now free subscriptions can only be obtained through an invite from a paying ‘Premium’ subscriber.
2) We7
Although not as comprehensive or user-friendly as Spotify, We7 is slowly making a name for itself in the world of online music streaming. Its growing popularity is mainly because it is the music streaming service of choice for many popular music websites. Recently, Gorillaz’s ‘Plastic Beach’ and Richard Ashcroft’s ‘United Nation’s of Sound’ have been streamed online using the We7 widget.
What it lacks in functionality, the We7 makes up for in accessibility. Unlike a Spotify-only subscription, anyone can visit We7 and start listening to the latest music for free.
3) Last.fm
An oldie, but definitely a goodie! Last.fm allows users to choose an artist, band or music genre and start listening to the selected tracks immediately. Although it may seem a bit limiting to some, Last.fm is a great place to discover new artists and music genres.
4) shared slot
Grooveshark is basically the web version of Spotify, with similar functionality, usability, and design. The difference is that Grooveshark streams music that other users have chosen to upload. His goal is to rescue the music industry by generating a community of music lovers sharing their favorite songs. However, some artists see music content on Grooveshark as massive copyright infringement, so don’t be surprised if your favorite songs disappear from time to time.