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chopper View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Spotify premium offline files
    Posted: January 28 2014 at 06:09
I'm thinking of going Premium on Spotify. From what I gather if you mark files as "available offline", it downloads the tracks into a local cache folder.

Does anyone know if it's possible to convert the tracks to MP3 and/or burn them to a CD? I'm assuming they're not stored as MP3 format files.


Edited by chopper - January 28 2014 at 08:33
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 09:57
Failing that, does anyone have any comments about Spotify in general? Is it worth paying for premium?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rushfan4 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 10:04
I am somewhat curious to the answer to these questions as well.  They are always advertising that you can try Premium for free for 30 days, so you might want to try that and see what it provides.  It seems that the main benefits are that you don't have to listen to the ads and that you can listen to albums on portable devices like phones and tablets.  Without premium you can still listen to albums on phones and tablets, but the songs are apparently played in random order rather than in the proper running order. 


Edited by rushfan4 - January 28 2014 at 10:04
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bloodnarfer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 10:23
I have premium because ads give me cancer and ruin my day.  But I don't think you can do anything to the downloaded tracks legally since you technically don't own them.  The only real benefit of downloading the tracks is so that you can listen to them anytime without burning through your data.  Or use it on a plane.

I guess premium is worth it only if 1. ads really bother you. 2. You would use spotify frequently on your phone.
You might as well check out the trial but I'm warning you that's what I did and it just wasn't possible for me to go back to the ad version again.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Padraic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 10:26
Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

I have premium because ads give me cancer and ruin my day.  But I don't think you can do anything to the downloaded tracks legally since you technically don't own them.  The only real benefit of downloading the tracks is so that you can listen to them anytime without burning through your data.  Or use it on a plane.

I guess premium is worth it only if 1. ads really bother you. 2. You would use spotify frequently on your phone.
You might as well check out the trial but I'm warning you that's what I did and it just wasn't possible for me to go back to the ad version again.

Yeah pretty much this.  I think the burning to CD of Spotify downloaded files falls in a murky area legally, but it is technically possible (as revealed by a small amount of Googling).

I was using Spotify Premium for a while but now I'm using Google Play Music All Access.  bloodnarfer's reason #2 was why I was paying for Premium.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 12:40
Originally posted by Padraic Padraic wrote:

Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

I have premium because ads give me cancer and ruin my day.  But I don't think you can do anything to the downloaded tracks legally since you technically don't own them.  The only real benefit of downloading the tracks is so that you can listen to them anytime without burning through your data.  Or use it on a plane.

I guess premium is worth it only if 1. ads really bother you. 2. You would use spotify frequently on your phone.
You might as well check out the trial but I'm warning you that's what I did and it just wasn't possible for me to go back to the ad version again.

Yeah pretty much this.  I think the burning to CD of Spotify downloaded files falls in a murky area legally, but it is technically possible (as revealed by a small amount of Googling).

I was using Spotify Premium for a while but now I'm using Google Play Music All Access.  bloodnarfer's reason #2 was why I was paying for Premium.
Thanks Padraic, I did indeed find 2 methods of converting to MP3s by Googling. Both worked ok but quite how legal they are is another matter. It's not clear if I actually "own" the tracks that I've marked as available offline.

I've gone for the trial version - I will use it mainly when working from home where I can stream from my phone to a Bluetooth speaker. Just need to see what their prog selection is like - I listened to Motorpsycho, Haken and Airbag today so it seems ok, but they only had 1 Transatlantic track.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 12:42
Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

check out the trial but I'm warning you that's what I did and it just wasn't possible for me to go back to the ad version again.

Thanks for the warning but I doubt I would go back to the free version - too many ads and not enough control over what you can play.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Catcher10 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 13:59
I don't use these online music services, I still use the Zune Marketplace and now called Xbox Music. But to download the music you have to have a subscription service or I think if you have an Xbox Live account you can stream all you want...Not sure.
But since it seems the same, you do not own the songs so you cannot burn them to CD, Zune uses DRM protection. Since I have been a Zuner since it came out I am grandfathered in to the service that gives me 10 free DRM-free downloads per month, so I own those songs.....I also buy some off the Marketplace, but generally I use the service to discover new music and listen to it before I look for the vinyl or CD to own. What I download stays available and I can make playlist or whatever....I keep them on a portable HD and just have to sync them monthly to renew the DRM play rights.
 
It works for me.....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ClemofNazareth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2014 at 14:32
I've been paying for Spotify for over a year now, mostly as bloodnarfer says because I listen on my phone a lot and especially while traveling and working out so I like being able to synch albums and playlists offline.  I've never tried to copy the files but it doesn't surprise me someone figured out how to.
 
Beyond just offline listening and no ads, I've found Spotify to be a really great way to discover new bands using the 'related artists' feature, or sometimes just by typing random words to see what shows up (check out Lady Lamb the Beekeeper for example). 
 
One thing that can be annoying though is that songs seem to be linked to albums and/or playlists in the Spotify database, so on occasion when going back online a song update can synch and replace a studio version in an offline album playlist with some other version of the same song.  I had this happen with a Cranberries album playlist once and ended up with a live version of "Zombie" where the audience does most of the singing.  Pretty annoying.  Also, there are an awful lot of older prog artists you can't find on Spotify such as Carol of Harvest, Smell of Incense, and Lamb (the San Francisco one).
 
Otherwise I've been pretty happy with Spotify.  If anyone has experience with better services though, I'm all ears...
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Joniwe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 09 2016 at 03:41
I am not a premium member on Spotify but I can keep the music or more specifically speaking, download the music for free with spam. It's real easy job to convert spam to spam with it. Or you can burn the recording tracks to CD as well. 

Edited by DamoXt7942 - May 07 2018 at 22:24
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote Davesax1965 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 09 2016 at 04:11
Hi Chopper, it's "a murky area legally".

Ie theft. 



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DamoXt7942 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 09 2016 at 04:30
I cannot evaluate Spotify inJapan even now ... looks like it will work in near future though. Ouch
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jackyyy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 07 2018 at 19:43
To be honest, it is impossible to convert your Spotify offline files to MP3 directly. However, as I googled it, there is still the way to go with some tools. And it says TuneFab has this function. Maybe you can have a try this way to eat a spam like me!

Edited by DamoXt7942 - May 07 2018 at 22:21
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Mascodagama Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 08 2018 at 01:04
If you want artists to be able to make a living I don't think converting your Spotify downloads into permanent possessions is the way to go.

p.s. http://thequietus.com/articles/24471-no-streaming-services-are-not-saving-the-music-industry-opinion
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Davesax1965 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 08 2018 at 02:26
I have to agree. 

If you care about music, don't use Spotify or any streaming app. Support the artist, buy the music. A lot of people here claim to "support musicians" but five years of download stats show me that this is one of the worst sites I go on for people actually paying for music. 

Spotify rips off musicians. The first to go will be "niche" music, and progressive rock is niche. 

Reconverting offline files to a format you can then own and make portable would be a copyright infringement. Full stop. 


Edited by Davesax1965 - May 08 2018 at 02:31

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iancat87 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 08 2018 at 10:10
^^Huge yes to the two replies above. As a musician on Spotify myself, and a friend to many of them, I am against ripping off musicians by stealing music. Last I checked, the royalty payout per stream on there is 0.0038. At least give the music you love SOMETHING rather than nothing.

Besides, Spotify premium costs a negligible $9.99 a month in the US for a single account, and $14.99 for a family plan. If you use it as frequently as I do, it more than pays for itself.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mascodagama Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 08 2018 at 11:30
Currently I buy several CDs a week. Spotify is only useful to me for recon, but I'm conscious that makes me part of an ever-shrinking minority. Which is a damn pity. 

I feel the onus is on those of us who really care about music, especially niche genres, to represent. Everyone who is a listener needs to know that they're only supporting their favourites if they buy physical media or downloads, or get out and see them live. Preferably both!






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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Davesax1965 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 09 2018 at 02:33
Spotify pays an absolute pittance for complete plays only. 

So that means "don't bother putting up a 10 minute track or anything which isn't mass market". Because if someone clicks off the track after 9.59, no money for the artist. 

Curiously, people sign up to Spotify and then complain why there are no live gigs in their area and no new bands coming along, as if the facts aren't interrelated. 

Music is not free. Bad music is free. Proper music will always cost money. It's bad enough that people use Spotify, it's even worse that they then research ways of converting offline files into MP3's, totally shortcutting the artist. 

Shame on anyone here who does. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chopper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 09 2018 at 02:44
Originally posted by Davesax1965 Davesax1965 wrote:

Spotify pays an absolute pittance for complete plays only. 

So that means "don't bother putting up a 10 minute track or anything which isn't mass market". Because if someone clicks off the track after 9.59, no money for the artist. 

Curiously, people sign up to Spotify and then complain why there are no live gigs in their area and no new bands coming along, as if the facts aren't interrelated. 

Music is not free. Bad music is free. Proper music will always cost money. It's bad enough that people use Spotify, it's even worse that they then research ways of converting offline files into MP3's, totally shortcutting the artist. 

Shame on anyone here who does. 
Just to point out this is a 4 year old thread that a spammer dug up to promote their product.
I do use Spotify but I also buy a lot of prog CDs to support a number of prog bands such as The Tangent, Lifesigns, Pendragon, I Am The Manic Whale to name but a few. The reason I asked the question in the first place was to see if I could transfer files to my MP3 player to listen to on the train and I asked it before I fully understood the workings of Spotify. I was not and am not trying to "shortcut the artist".


Edited by chopper - May 09 2018 at 02:46
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote iancat87 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 09 2018 at 07:40
Originally posted by Davesax1965 Davesax1965 wrote:

Spotify pays an absolute pittance for complete plays only. 

So that means "don't bother putting up a 10 minute track or anything which isn't mass market". Because if someone clicks off the track after 9.59, no money for the artist. 

Curiously, people sign up to Spotify and then complain why there are no live gigs in their area and no new bands coming along, as if the facts aren't interrelated. 

Music is not free. Bad music is free. Proper music will always cost money. It's bad enough that people use Spotify, it's even worse that they then research ways of converting offline files into MP3's, totally shortcutting the artist. 

Shame on anyone here who does. 

Though I agree with the sentiment here, a song only needs to be streamed for 30 seconds in order for it to count as a stream, therefore paying the artist. This has actually been a problem with bots on Spotify, created by scummy managers trying to make a buck off of mediocre artists. Independent music and the internet at large has a bot problem, and I wish more people were talking about it because it's insanely frustrating.
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