Within the past month, a new music application has popped up on Facebook, plaguing people’s newfeeds with what their friends are listening to at the moment.

This application, called Spotify, allows instant listening to music from most of the major and independent record labels, including Sony, Warner Music Group and Universal. By streaming the music, subscribers to Spotify can search for virtually any artist or album and listen to entire songs. 

Something of a combination between Pandora and iTunes, Spotify provides three packages for listeners. The first package is free and is similar to Pandora with advertisements that play after several songs. Listeners can also pay a $4.99 monthly subscription for its unlimited package. This package provides unlimited music, free of ads. Lastly, there is the premium package that costs $9.99 a month. With this package, subscribers can also listen to their Spotify playlists while offline and use the app on their smartphones.

When Spotify is downloaded onto a computer, it imports the local music files. This means that for someone with iTunes, all these songs will also be accessible through Spotify.

Listeners can also share their music and playlists with friends.  For most people this takes place through Facebook. In the middle of September, Spotify and Facebook signed an agreement, making a Facebook account necessary to sign up for one with Spotify.

“Spotify is the Pandora that we’ve always longed for,” says Caitlin Payne, a former Iona College student. “It takes music playlists to the next level. I can customize and sync my music straight from iTunes and combine it with Spotify’s infinite database of songs to create and personalize my own playlists!”

What are the implications of this? Well, it now means that one’s music choices and listening habits are broadcast to every friend on Facebook.

There is currently no way to turn off this feature. On top of this, unlimited streaming is only free for six months. All users who have signed up through Facebook have been able to stream an unlimited amount of music for free, but this will end after six months. Ideally, users will begin to pay for the service at the end of the six months.

While the prospect of paying after six months may turn people away, it offers a music version of Netflix. Even though Netflix has suffered within the past few months by upping its prices and trying to split its streaming feature from its DVD rental feature, it has a good original business model. Perhaps the six-month trial will prove more fruitful than the two weeks offered by Netflix, creating more of a reliance on Spotify.

For a software application that was first released two years ago, it has flourished exponentially in the past month. Will it see its numbers continue to grow, though?  Even though the thought of having to pay after six months may be discouraging, it offers a bright future for the music industry.