Spotify: Beatles, Zeppelin Are Still Holding Out

So, have you tried Spotify? This is new the streaming music service aiming to take on ITunes. So far Spotify looks like a hit. You don’t download the music. You just pay to listen to it everywhere, on every device you own–computers, portable music players, etc. They’ve made deals with all the music labels to pay them for the privilege of “broadcasting” the music to us personally. It’s like custom radio. But not everyone is there. The Beatles, of course, are MIA. The group has an exclusive arrangement with Apple/ITunes. Their music isn’t even on amazon.com. No one knows when this deal expires–maybe in November on the one year anniversary? Steve Jobs must have paid a lot to get the Beatles because ITunes uses the group’s images to push everything. Go to ITunes now and see the cover of “Abbey Road.” Other groups missing from Spotify: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Peter Gabriel, AC DC. There are probably more. Is Spotify any good? It seems easier to use than ITunes. Also, I like that they featured Incubus’s new album on the home page. And for $4.99 a month you get the music to follow you wherever you are. This seems easier than having to upload it a cloud. Their cloud is always hovering. As Paul McCartney once sang, “There’s a shadow hanging over me.” In this case, it’s Spotify.