Spotify: Download music and listen to music for free

One of the ways to listen to music for free via the internet is the Spotify program. In this manual you can read everything about this free music service that was founded in Sweden but can now be used in many European countries to listen to free music on the internet.

Paid and free music listening

In addition to a free version, Spotify also offers paid music listening subscriptions. With the paid version of Spotify, you can listen to more music in higher quality. In addition, the paid version of Spotify can also be used to listen to music on your mobile phone. Spotify does not work with MP3 files. The software uses a proprietary file format that is not similar to the MP3 files you download on the Internet.

Spotify Free

The free version of Spotify is called 'Spotify Free'. With this free subscription, you as a user can listen to 20 hours of music every month for free. Each week, 5 hours of listening credit will be added to your account from this subscription. After a period of 6 months, you will not be able to listen to 20 hours but only 10 hours of free music per month. In addition, you can only listen to each song 5 times.

In addition, the free version of Spotify includes advertising breaks. This is of course a shame, but the makers of Spotify still want to earn their money with the free music they offer via the internet. In addition, artists and record companies also want to be paid.

If you want to give Spotify a try for free, you can register at this link. After registration, it is important to download the Spotify music player. With this software program, Spotify streams the music to your computer, after which you can play it. You still have to enter your password and username after installing the program.

After starting the program you will see a clear interface where you can search for the music you want to listen to in a number of ways. Below is an image of the Spotify home screen. As you can see, this version of the program in combination with a Spotify Free subscription also offers prominent advertising.

Since December last year, it is also possible to stream music for free on mobile devices (such as iPhones, iPad, or Android smartphones) with Spotify. You cannot choose which songs you want to hear and you may hear advertisements. But otherwise, this free Spotify on your smartphone is a perfect alternative to playing an mp3 download on your smartphone.\

Spotify Premium and Unlimited

In addition to the free version to listen to music on the internet, Spotify also offers paid subscriptions. The rates for listening to music on the internet with Spotify start at 4.99 euros per month. For this amount, you can listen to all the music that Spotify offers in its database on your computer. In addition, there is no time limit on the number of hours that you can listen to music and the advertising has also been omitted .

The most expensive version of Spotify is Spotify Premium. This version can be used just like the version mentioned above. However, this version can also be used on your mobile phone (Android, Blackberry or iPhone). Due to the bandwidth limits on your mobile phone, it is even possible to stream music to your mobile phone if you are on a WiFi connection. However, as soon as you have a UMTS or 3G connection, Spotify uses the previously downloaded music to play. This of course saves a lot on your bandwidth and therefore the costs of your mobile phone.

Experiences and conclusion

I myself have been using Spotify Premium, the most expensive version, for over a year, and for me it is the ideal way to listen to music on my mobile phone. The disadvantage of Spotify is the fact that not all music can be listened to on Spotify. A number of record companies have not given Spotify permission to offer their music. But luckily it's rare that I can't find the music I want to hear via Spotify.