Update (11Jun2014) : Everyone, try Google Music. It is now live in Canada and is absolutely amazing! There are differences between Google Music Canada and Google Music USA but it is still worth the $8 / month.
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Finally! All I have been hearing from Will Band Of The Week and other music sites is “Spotify this” or “Spotify that”! And then when we click on Spotify we here in the Great White North, get – “This service is unavailable in Canada”. Frustrating! Just like Google Voice. And Hulu. And Amazon music. And the great content on netflix.com (and not the crappy version netflix.ca)
So when I casually clicked on the site last night to check what the status is….imagine my surprise when Spotify allowed me to download the software and within a few minutes, I was listening to the Liminanas! Wow! And I randomly searched some other bands on Spotify : Interpol, Japandroids, Great Lake Swimmers….they were all there. Now I can sample all the songs I want without any issues.
But let’s a step back for a minute. What is so great about Spotify? I mean, all the music I want to listen to is available at :
– CBC Radio 3
– Groove Shark
– You Tube
– Songza
Why should I be so happy that Spotify has come to town? Well, one thing the mobile versions of the above listed apps sucks! I mean:
– CBC Radio 3 : Just has a stream. You can’t really search for the music you want to listen to, except on the full site.
– Grroveshark. : The mobile version is really, really bad. The full site is great but the mobile version….really?
– You tube. Again, all songs are there to sample but you don’t have it streamlined for music. It it mostly – search and then you might get lucky with related videos. And where is Google Music for Canada?
– Songza has awesome curated stations (just like 8tracks). But not a dedicated music site for those who want to sample new albums.
Which is why Spotify is really high up on my list of preferred music sites.
But, why “sort of”?
Because they are refusing to accept my credit card to pay for upgraded version since it has not been officially launched here in Canada! I want to pay but…”not right now”, says Spotify!!
Of well, I will continue listening and sampling music from Spotify. For example, just listened to Sinead O’Connor’s new album. Bam! She is back with a vengeance! (Will review it soon.)
Desi In Toronto 