Already a subscriber? Log in
The record companies allow their music to appear on Spotify because at least it is able to pay them a little cash with the help of the adverts and subscriptions. When 95 per cent of musical downloads on the internet are illegal, a little has got to be better than a great big zero.
There are lacunae. No Beatles, no Pink Floyd, no Led Zeppelin (though, rather touchingly, Spotify offers cover-band versions of songs by acts who decline to appear on the site). Nor does the operation, which began in Sweden, seem totally hip to the more obscure artists especially beloved by this column. The Brian Jonestown Massacre, for instance, are woefully underrepresented. So are the McGarrigle sisters. But Gene Clark’s beautiful No Other is there in all its glory. So are Syd Barrett’s solo albums, and absolutely lashings of the Stones, Neil Young, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding.
There are some amazing discoveries. The Grateful Dead’s series of officially sanctioned live recordings from throughout their career, Dick’s Picks, is available in its entirety. Since the series is now up to volume 36, and many of the sets are doubles, triples and even quadruples, that’s an awful lot of the Dead — more of the Dead, perhaps, than any sane person could possibly wish for.
There is also plenty of classical music — but not necessarily the best recordings. You’ll find Mozart’s piano concertos for instance, but not performed by Murray Perahia. And though there are plenty of Beethoven quartets, you won’t find them by the Takacs, Italian, or Vegh Quartets, generally considered the best modern recordings. Remastered versions of the historic and atmospheric old 1930s 78s by the Busch Quartet are there, however — and these are probably the greatest performances of all.
Jazz is especially well served. Sweden is a famously jazz-addicted nation — many of the great Americans toured there over the years — and I have found no significant gaps from Louis Armstrong to Pat Metheny. It is particularly good to be able to listen to music on the classy ECM label for nothing. Their discs are almost always at a premium price in shops and on Amazon.
What you can’t do with Spotify is download the music on to your iPod. It’s best to think of it as the biggest record lending library in the world, instantly available on your computer, and to use the service like a radio. Indeed Spotify actually has a ‘radio’ function which allows you to choose any genre, from heavy metal to classical, from jazz to soul, and any decade, from the pre-Fifties to the present day. The machine then takes over and chooses the tracks for you. It’s easy to sign up (just Google Spotify) and in my experience it always works without long waits for buffering. No wonder the record industry is in such dire straits. Why buy when you can Spotify? Make hay while you can.
Charles Spencer is theatre critic of the Daily Telegraph.
Also in Society
Also by Charles Spencer
Latest
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in