I remember having to rewind and fast-forward cassette tapes just to get to the song I wanted to hear. The sounds of the tape-reel drive whirling and the clicking of the stop button are nostalgic. But technology driving the music industry has evolved so much since that time. Cassette tapes paved the way for CDs and they became the primary source for music aficionados to listen to music. Now we simply click our mouse or touch the screen on our mobile devices and millions of songs are available.
What’s Spotify Web Player?
Launched in 2008, Spotify is primarily a music streaming service that has taken the world by storm. Today, Spotify offers more than 50 million songs from its library and boasts over 286 million monthly active users. Spotify began life as a mobile app, empowering users with music on-the-go. However, in 2012, Spotify Web Player offered a new way to listen to music at home or in the office. It changed the way we consumed music by not just offering quality audio, but also enhancing our user experience. The browser-based Spotify Web Player was a highly sought-after feature that many users demanded. The main reason was that many schools and offices restricted the downloading of desktop applications. Therefore, downloading anything off the internet could unintentionally introduce malware or viruses into the network. The power of music streaming is in its efficiency to search, select, and play music. Spotify’s mobile app uses streaming technology, but Spotify Web Player relies on streaming and peer-to-peer technology. This enables the browser-based player to work more quickly and efficiently than the app. Spotify listened to their users requesting a browser-based music player and they developed a player that stood out. Incorporating an intelligent and interactive interface, Spotify gave users unique listening experiences. So, what exactly did Spotify do to make them the world’s leading music streaming service?
Portability
The idea that you can take your music with you everywhere you go is not an illusion of yesteryear. Agreed, music is readily available everywhere. The ability to gain access to the radio is easy, but you do not get to listen to your music. Music that you have painstakingly filtered through and curated for special occasions, parties, and fun aerobic workouts. This portability of your music is crucial to many people, where music helps drown out the distractions of their day. A large part of most people’s day is spent in school or at work and playing music on the computer is very normal. However, with cybersecurity measures and computer restrictions, many people cannot download music applications at schools or in offices. This is where Spotify Web Player shines the brightest. By simply going to the Spotify page on your web browser and logging in, your music is now ready for your listening pleasure. The power of portability means you take your playlist, and library of millions of tunes anywhere you go in the world. Whether you are at work, school, or even a friend’s house, take your music with you anywhere.
Sharing is caring
Do you remember listening to a great song on the radio? If you wanted that track, you had to go and buy the CD to listen to it again. Sharing it with your friends also meant lending them your CD. Back in those days, that was what it meant to share music with someone. That whole process could take one or two weeks and only if you had the money to buy the CD. Technology has drastically improved the way we consume and share music. We can share music through personal sharing of files between family and friends or globally through social media. Music was never meant to be enjoyed alone. One of the simplest pleasures is knowing that there are people out there who enjoy the same music as you. That is why when we hear a cool new song or new musician, we want to share it with others. Spotify Web Player also allows you to share your music easily. Your account comes with a specific URL that you can share with others. By simply sharing this URL, your family and friends can enjoy the music that you were listening too. It is as simple as dragging and dropping the URL to a chat group, text message, or social media platform. This is how Spotify Web Player lets us share the music we love with the people we love, effortlessly.
Drop it like it’s HOT with the HotKey
Like S-N-Double-O-P D-O-Double-G and Pharrell Williams told us, Spotify Web Player “Drops It Like It’s Hot”, and by that I mean hotkeys. Everyone loves hotkeys because it makes navigation a breeze. It simplifies long-winded methods that take up unnecessary time when all we want to do is save time. Spotify teamed up with Firefox and Google Chrome to incorporate Spotify Web Player add-ons for hotkey navigation on both web browsers. The hotkey navigation tool is extremely useful in controlling the Spotify Web Player, especially for those at work. Spotify Web Player hotkeys help eliminate the distracting need to open and close multiple windows just to control the music player.
Space saver
Memory space is a precious commodity when it comes to computers and laptops. By having sufficient memory space in our hard drives, our PCs can operate at optimum efficiency. That means we don’t want to take up unnecessary space on our computers that will only slow us down. Because Spotify Web Player is highly portable, it means that you do not have to carry an external hard drive with all your songs around. Everything you need is online. Simply log in to Spotify on the web player and start playing your music and no more worries about insufficient memory space or unoptimized operating speeds. So, start to save memory space by playing your music on Spotify Web Player today.
Don’t forget the lyrics
Some years ago, a popular American game show called, Don’t Forget the Lyrics, had contestants sing along and finish the lyrics to famous songs. It was like playing hangman and singing along to a karaoke song at the same time. Spotify realized how popular karaoke singing was and decided to leverage on that. They add lyrics for songs and the web browser which allowed users to sing along or learn the lyrics to their favorite song. This initiative gave Spotify Web Player a whole new demographic to latch on too – the older karaoke-loving generation. It also gave a new perspective on karaoke nights at home with family and friends. This enabled people to gather together, enjoy the music, have a sing-along, and sometimes get a little competitive.
Better Music Quality
At the end of the day, when it comes to music, quality triumphs. Not all of us are hardcore audiophiles. Many of us cannot tell the difference between a 128kbps and 256kbps track, but music clarity is something we all can hear. Spotify Web Player offers better music quality than YouTube, which many of us use to stream music through the browser. That’s why the switch to Spotify Web Player is a no-brainer.
How do I use the Spotify Web Player?
Now that you are up to date on all the benefits, it is clear that you should switch to Spotify Web Player today. It is the superior choice for streaming your music. Now all that is left is to learn how to use the Spotify Web Player to play your music.
First, open your web browser of choice (I guarantee that it will not be Windows Explorer). Second, go to Spotify’s web page. Third, Log in to your account. If you do not already have an account, sign up for one. It’s free. Last, play your music to your heart’s content.
If you are new to Spotify music streaming service, you can choose between a free or a premium account. The free Spotify account lets you listen to all the music you want, however, there will be advertisements played periodically during your listening sessions. While the premium account is advertisement-free and has additional perks like higher quality audio. Plus you can download songs for offline listening on Spotify as well. Free users need an internet connection at all times to play their music.
Conclusion
If you have not signed up for a Spotify account (it is free anyway), what are you waiting for? For those of you who are already long-time fans, it is time to ditch the desktop app and start using Spotify Web Player. Generally, Spotify Web Player brings more good than you can expect. Ultimately, the decision is yours, download or not, you decide.
