Quote:
Originally posted by Elliot
But its stupid because without things like spotify people will just download it illegally, like i do now since i cant pre-listen to an album before i buy it, which is what happened when i first heard Taylors Speak Now, I heard it on spotify then went out the next day to buy all 3 of her albums cos i liked it so much. Like someone said they should probably start doing things separate for premium users like myself.
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I do agree with this, and I think this is most artists' main problem with Spotify. Let's not forget that "streaming" as a concept is not the sole issue. It's the difference between free a la carte streaming and paid streaming. Spotify could easily get back into good graces with musicians if they offered a tiered streaming option only available to premium users (or even if their free service worked more like radio or Pandora).
That said, an artist shouldn't have to literally give you their album for free for you to decide to buy it (because lbr, that's what is happening when you say you want to play it on Spotify first before you decide to buy it). That's why 1:30 previews/snippets exist.
No one else gives away their hard work for free, so why should artists be expected to do it? You don't go to a restaurant and ask for the entire meal before you decide you want to order and pay for it. You ask for a sample of the dishes, and you either buy or decline based on that. Sure, you may end up disappointed in the meal as a whole, but chances are, if you liked the samples, you'll like the whole.
If anything, Spotify should operate more like iTunes in that it gives free users the ability to play 1:30 snippets of a "premium" album (like 1989 or 25), and offer the option to either buy it outright, or upgrade to Premium tier to stream the whole thing.
But they're the ones that will actually make streaming services perk up and listen. You really think Spotify is going to give a flying **** if a bunch of indie artists withhold their albums from their service? 
