Spotify

How have online media developed? :

Spotify was developed in 2006 in sweden. It is a music streaming service which is offered to people either as a free version or for £10 p/m as a premium service. The free version has advertisements after every few songs which are played whereas the premium version has no advertisements between songs and also allows users to use it on portable devices such as iPhones, as it is available to download via the app store. Originally to use spotify you had to recieve an invitation via email from an exsisting user, this was to allow spotify to keep control of the amount of people using the software. On 10th february 2009 Spotify changed from invitation only to available to everyone.

What has been the impact of the internet on media production?:

Most record labels have signed up to Spotify however some refuse to allow listeners to have access to there music for free. Led Zeppelin and Oasis are to name just a few who's music is unavailable to people with a UK I.P address. If people are usigned music artists it is possible to get your own music on Spotify. They offer a service which will help them have

How is consumer behavior and audience response transformed by online media, in relation to the past?

Founded: 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.

Location: Headquarters in the UK with offices in Stockholm, Paris, Oslo, Madrid, Amsterdam and New York.

Number of tracks: Over 10,000,000

Registered users: 10,000,000

Paying users: 1,000,000

Goal: To help people to listen to whatever music they want, whenever they want, wherever they want.

Number of employees: 250

The name: A combination of spot and identify.

To what extent has convergence transformed the media?

Many pieces of software and websites now have converged with social networking sites to allow there users easier access, and less hassle for the user. Websites such as Blogger, YouTube
iTunes

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