It’s about time! Time and again, Canadians have to watch these awesome music streaming services pop up, only to discover that once again we won’t have access to it. This time it’s our turn –five years after the initial launch, the Swedish company is giving Canadians access to Spotify.
Before you start pointing out that competing services are available in Canada (including the likes of Deezer, Rara, Rdio, Slacked, and Google Play Music), the real value here is that Spotify is a pioneer in the music streaming marketplace. They were around when digital music rights found a compromise that reduced the amount of illegal downloading by arranging a price-point that was agreeable to consumers and musicians alike.
Wiht a $10CAD monthly fee, subscribers will enjoy full access to over 20 million songs (if you don’t mind having to listen to -terribly annoying- ads, you can listen to the same music catalog for free).
To help celebrate the launch, Spotify has created an ‘all Canadian’ playlist that features national music icons such as: Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Bryan Adams, Gordon Lightfoot, and (of course) Rush. It’s a slight bit cheesy, but at the same time I found it kind of hard to turn off.
Ready to give it a try? Download Spotify for Android now and start listening… legitimately! Once you dip your toes in the Spotify waters, it becomes pretty difficult to justify buying songs or albums ever again.
Jillian Koskie is an experienced software developer, content writer, project manager and usability design expert. With over 17 years in these roles, Jillian has enjoyed applying her skill-set to assist clients and users across a wide variety of sectors including: legal, health, and financial services. Combining these professional opportunities with a love of technology, Jillian is pleased to contribute articles, opinions, and advice to numerous news outlets, websites, and publications.