Spotify and MY music collection

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Are you saying Spotify uses the crappier version of a given song? I'm trying to get what you're saying.
 
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Maybe I'm confused about the OPs original use of Spotify. I use Spotify for a lot of casual listening and discovery, never to DJ with. I can listen to a song without having purchased it, but in many cases own music and just happen to listen using Spotify.

Are you worried that Spotify isn't going to have music that you own? Or, are you trying to capture the tunes from Spotify so you have them for private use when not using the Spotify service?
 
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Are you saying Spotify uses the crappier version of a given song? I'm trying to get what you're saying.

Spotify is using a cheaper version of the song. The ones I've noticed are hits that have obviously been re-cut, likely after the artist has left the label that made them famous. I remember all the older Grand Ole Opry artists were doing the same thing. They'd re-cut their old hits and the original labels were out of the picture by that point so no royalties to share.
 
Spotify is using a cheaper version of the song. The ones I've noticed are hits that have obviously been re-cut, likely after the artist has left the label that made them famous. I remember all the older Grand Ole Opry artists were doing the same thing. They'd re-cut their old hits and the original labels were out of the picture by that point so no royalties to share.

Unless it was your song (written and produced by you) to begin with, how would that work? Royalties cover the writer, publisher, etc.I do get how a label would be left out - but aren't they getting the major share of their money from album / song purchases?
 
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...unless you use a non-sanctioned tool.

Thanks for all the help Steve! That worked. It seems that Spotify and Google Play are all about the playlists.

I gather you are required to place all "subscription bought" music into a playlist before you can do anything with them. Seems odd to me.

Maybe streaming is not for me....and I've been called worse...:soldiercool:
 
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Unless it was your song (written and produced by you) to begin with, how would that work? Royalties cover the writer, publisher, etc.I do get how a label would be left out - but aren't they getting the major share of their money from album / song purchases?

The songwriter gets the mechanical but the record label will also get a cut, if it's their track that's being used. Using these re-makes cuts the middleman out of the equation. The songwriter still gets a mechanical, but it's a miniscule amount. I believe it also cuts out the issue of having to get permission to use the track from the record label.
 
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Legal? Illegal? Has anyone ever gotten one single straight answer from the ASCAP / BMI / RIAA attorneys? No, nor will anyone ever get one.

I've squared off three times with them at three different conventions/conferences and no matter how a question was asked or phrased, the answers were nonexistent at best, ignored at worst. My personal opinion of ASCAP / BMI / RIAA is basic. Keep it foggy vague. During a quiet obedient time, attack some poor hapless sonafabitch. Earn your keep for another year. Respect to the person who's the lawyer. Respect to the education. For the specific job? Telemarketing seems more honorable.

For Spotify, I use the pro service ($10/mon) to develop playlists of songs I would never ever use in performances. I ride my motorcycle probably 1,000 miles a month and using the Bluetooth helmet headsets, love listening to non-mainstream B sides, or ethnic music I know zilch about, or a specific genre I know nothing about, so I save the playlist, then convert their format into .mp3, transfer it to my droid, and can listen to the tracks any time anywhere regardless of cell coverage or available wifi.

I do not use Spotify for tracks used in performance. That's Google for me.
 
For Spotify, I use the pro service ($10/mon) to develop playlists of songs I would never ever use in performances. I save the playlist, then convert their format into .mp3, transfer it to my droid, and can listen to the tracks any time anywhere regardless of cell coverage or available wifi.

Is that done using Sidify?
 
I save the playlist, then convert their format into .mp3, transfer it to my droid, and can listen to the tracks any time anywhere regardless of cell coverage or available wifi.

I'm not sure if this helps you, but the Spotify app allows you to download directly to the device without having to do any converting at all:
IMG_6621.PNG
 
Multiple devices? Media player of choice? Access only through one app? Too many restrictions for my blood, but thank you for that reminder.
 
...so I save the playlist, then convert their format into .mp3, transfer it to my droid, and can listen to the tracks any time anywhere regardless of cell coverage or available wifi.

Cap, in Spotify, I created and downloaded a sample playlist on my PC, but I cannot find where they are.

Is there a default spot they use?
 
I'm not sure if this helps you, but the Spotify app allows you to download directly to the device without having to do any converting at all.

Ross, all my tracks are on my Andriod phone and I usually use Samsung Music to play them.

If I use the Spotify app, will it see and allow me to play MY music (over 20,000 tracks) as well as the tracks I "get" from them?
 
Yes. You can set that location yourself but to see where the default folder is, alongside your log on email address is a down ( "V" ) indicator.
Click it.
Click settings.
Click advanced.
Scroll down to OFFLINE SONG STORAGE
Where they are now is displayed however you can change the location to any place desired.
 
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I'm not sure if this helps you, but the Spotify app allows you to download directly to the device without having to do any converting at all:
View attachment 34457
I think "their" downloaded songs can only play on "their" player. Sidify converts them to non-DRM mp3s and then they can be played on anything.
 
Cap, I changed the location and downloaded the few songs I had in the sample playlist. But the download had like 87 separate folders all titled with 2 digit numbers none of which contained any music files.

Thanks for all your help, but I don't think Spotify will work for me.:humble:
 
Ross, all my tracks are on my Andriod phone and I usually use Samsung Music to play them.

If I use the Spotify app, will it see and allow me to play MY music (over 20,000 tracks) as well as the tracks I "get" from them?

I've never tried to access my personal library while using Spotify. Honestly, I'd prefer it didn't. I don't want to confuse whether I have a track in my library or not and then go to look for it at a wedding and realize I don't own it.

But I've also not looked for songs on Spotify that I can't find... so it makes no difference whether it can see my existing music (to me).
 
Legal? Illegal? Has anyone ever gotten one single straight answer from the ASCAP / BMI / RIAA attorneys? No, nor will anyone ever get one.

I've squared off three times with them at three different conventions/conferences and no matter how a question was asked or phrased, the answers were nonexistent at best, ignored at worst. My personal opinion of ASCAP / BMI / RIAA is basic. Keep it foggy vague. During a quiet obedient time, attack some poor hapless sonafabitch. Earn your keep for another year. Respect to the person who's the lawyer. Respect to the education. For the specific job? Telemarketing seems more honorable.

For Spotify, I use the pro service ($10/mon) to develop playlists of songs I would never ever use in performances. I ride my motorcycle probably 1,000 miles a month and using the Bluetooth helmet headsets, love listening to non-mainstream B sides, or ethnic music I know zilch about, or a specific genre I know nothing about, so I save the playlist, then convert their format into .mp3, transfer it to my droid, and can listen to the tracks any time anywhere regardless of cell coverage or available wifi.

I do not use Spotify for tracks used in performance. That's Google for me.

I find ASCAP and BMI to be pretty clear about the issues. I think the problem that you are having is that many DJs think they are asking a single question when in reality they have tangled multiple conflicting issues into one big knot.

In short - it is perfectly fine to perform a song from spotify or any other source. The issue of Public Performance does not speak to who owns the source material or how it was obtained. It speaks only to the issue of whether a public performance occurred and if a royalty is due for that play. ASCAP and BMI are each a Performance Right Management Agency. Their sole function is to register commercial users and collect royalties on behalf of their member artists and publishers.

The issue of whether you can use a song commercially (as a soundtrack in your video, on your website, rebroadcast, stream, or in promotion, etc.) is specifically Copyright - rights in the lyrics, rights in the arrangement, rights in the recording, and rights to synchronize. These are managed by Copyright holders, their labels, or a Rights Clearinghouse (such as the Harry Fox Agency.) There is no circumstance, other than established fair use for which you could apply a Spotify download to one of these uses without first obtaining a license to do so. This is true no matter how you obtain the song, including songs you purchased from any source. Failure to obtain the required license could subject you to a civil lawsuit. This is the essence of why Spotfy (and other services) reject commercial use in their Terms of Use or End User Agreements. Spotify (et.al.) is denying any authority to grant or support commercial use by a susbcriber.

The issue of downloading and collecting or converting tracks is Piracy. The service may be authorized to let you cache a certain amount of content for offline access but, there is no ownership in that. Capturing and converting a streaming product to something you can keep is no different than duplicating CDs - you would be pirating the music. This is unlike iTunes for example, where you are actually purchasing a track the same way one would purchase a record or CD. Performing a cached track is no different than performing it from the live stream. Creating a duplicate that you have not purchased or otherwise leased in some way would be piracy.

If you ask an RIAA or ASCAP representative a question that fails to separate these different issues or otherwise bundles and confuses what you are doing with the music then yes - they are not going to have an answer for you. They do not want to mislead the hoards of DJs who do not understand the complexity and otherwise believe "Copyright" is a singular all or nothing proposition.
 
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I've been playing with a paid subscription to Google Play Music for a bit and I don't think streaming is for me.

If I was just starting to collect music or if I didn't already have a huge collection, I'd be all over this.

Probably due to my OCD "must control" way of thinking is the reason.

I can't edit the genre's and still can't figure out the whole download procedure.

So I'm gonna stay in my safe comfy spot...which is to buy tracks which allows me the freedom to do whatever I want with them.

Yes, I'll be spending more $$, but hey it's my lone addiction and it needs to be fed. :monconfused: