With Armin van Buuren’s forthcoming studio album, Intense, due for its release on May 3rd, fans are getting an early taste from Spotify. Now available for strictly streaming, Armin showcases Intense beyond “This Is What It Feels Like” and proves the lead single is not indicative of its full-length feature host. Tracks like “Who’s Afraid of 138?!” set the tone with bpm turned up as the world’s number one DJ boasts the same trance that has earned him the title. Stream Intense via Spotify before it hits iTunes on Friday.
Stream: Spotify
From its Coachella debut to its radio leak and, of course, to its release, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” has swept the world this April. Nearly days after the first single from Random Access Memories became available to the world, it has broken records, becoming the most-streamed song in the history of Spotify. While the statistics are still unknown, it’s been confirmed to have out-streamed Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” in the US and Bastille’s “Pompeii” in the UK. Director of label relations at Spotify, Will Hope, expects Daft Punk’s new album to be the biggest of the year for the streaming service, and had this to say about Random Access Memories:
“The robots have once again shown themselves to be true innovators, not only with their new musical direction and the stellar cast of collaborators they’re working with, but also by undertaking one of the best album campaigns we’ve seen for some time. We expect the album to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, on Spotify this year.”
Via: Guardian
For the first time in thirteen years global sales in the music industry have risen, according to a study reported by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The increase was meek — 0.3% — but the trend in an important indicator for the future of the music industry. Once seen as the gravedigger for record companies, it is of course digital music that is leading this slow road to recovery.
Back in 1999, when many of us were still making mix CDs off our colored iMacs, Napster was skyrocketing the popularity of mp3s to untold heights. For years, the titanic corporations trying to drum up legal digital music business models could simply not find ways to compete with explosive rate at which a new generation was downloading and sharing music illegally. This plague has now turned to profit — subscribers to services like Spotify and Rhapsody grew by 44 percent last year, and sales from iTunes have not slowed either.
(more…)
Most DJs view Spotify as a great resource for discovering new music, but when it comes to playing the tracks they find live… well, they’re on their own. Pulselocker begs to differ.
Described on its official blog as “a little bit of Netflix, and a little Dropbox, sprinkled with a generous dose of Spotify,” the innovative new music streaming service allows subscribing DJs to road test tracks from its catalogue in live sets before committing to buy them. Depending on their subscription level, DJs gets a fixed number (100 for beta users) of track slots in their “locker,” which they can only play offline using partner software like Traktor and Serato. Hit a home run? Purchase it to free up the slot. Dance floor dud? Delete it and download another in its place.
Intrigued? Get your hands on the beta here, and check out the video on its locker feature after the break.
(more…)
With the first ever album to be released exclusively via Spotify, Cazzette have completed the unveiling of their debut LP, Eject. While part one brought their charting single “Beam Me Up” and multi-BPM original “The Rat,” part two saw the release of the melody-driven originals “Weapon” and “I Surrender.” Part three, however, is arguably the most coveted installment of them all. Click past the break to listen to Eject on Spotify, as well as hear our thoughts on the album as a whole.
(more…)
Just a month after we took a look at part I, Cazzette has launched part II of their debut album, Eject. The second installment strays away from their signature dub-house sound and finds a more upbeat tone with two out of three tracks containing vocals. Things start off with “Weapon,” which is carried by female vocals that blend with a light progressive beat to set the tone for the other tracks. “Endorphine” contains electro elements but its airy beat makes this the most uplifting track on the EP. “Surrender” is a male vocal track with an electro build, that rises and falls into a pulsating bassline, though we wish it hit a bit harder. Since Cazzette has partnered with Spotify, you can’t purchase the tracks – only streaming is available. Overall, Part II doesn’t leave us begging for more, it just makes us wonder why Spotify was the distribution method of choice.
Listen on Spotify (Or past the break)
(more…)
Alex and Sebastian of Cazzette sat in their New York City hotel, picking at sushi rolls and chicken wings, while reporters lined up to ask questions before their album release party at Lavo. With Eject only days away from an exclusive release with Spotify, the boys seemed more focused on their groundbreaking social media partnership, while I was focused on the music. Having already listening to the album, I sat down with the duo to get a track-by-track insight of their debut album.
(more…)
The intense beats and heavy rhythms typical of dance music certainly have their time and place, but sometimes we need to slow it down a bit. Teendaze is offering us that necessary break with their remix of “Perth,” originally by the Grammy-winning band Bon Iver. His lovely and moving remix of “Perth” makes the task of turning a Bon Iver song into a dance music track look easy, which it isn’t. The remix was birthed as the result of a Bon Iver x Spotify x Indaba Music remix contest so we’re curious to see the results — especially since Teendaze claims this is only his first entry.
Free Download
Via: SoundCloud (Teendaze)
Let’s all just admit it: Tiesto wants to take over your life. In addition to invading your wardrobe, your headphone choice, your SiriusXM channel, and your iPhone games, he is taking it to the next level and launching a new Artist App on Spotify. Essentially, Tiesto will help curate a musical experience for listeners through the “Tiesto’s Club Life” app. We’re told that it will boast regular track selections, including single of the week, album of the month, festival of the month, and a periodically updated chart. Tiesto went on to call Spotify “one of the most exciting platforms out there,” before declaring that it is “helping to redefine the way people listen to music.” You can access the app right now from the left navigation bar in Spotify’s desktop app; no word on whether it will make the jump to mobile.
(Editor’s Note: Spotify has a free plan that’s pretty awesome — especially when you’re at work.)
We know you’re sad that we’re done announcing our 50 biggest tracks of 2011, but there’s one more surprise we can share to help it last a little longer. Dedicated DA reader Keith took the time to put together a Spotify playlist with our picks — and even though Spotify is missing five of them, we still think this is pretty awesome. We’ve always said that our readers are some of the best out there, and you guys never cease to amaze us with the amount of support and dedication you have. If you enjoy this playlist, be sure to thank Keith in the comments, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you ever want to get in touch.
Thanks, Keith!
The List: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1
Dancing Astronaut Top 50 2011 on Spotify
