The much anticipated Spotify online music service has finally landed on U.S. shores Thursday. Spotify has previously only been available in Europe but now joins a crowded U.S. market of competing music services that include Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music, iTunes, MOG, Pandora, Rhapsody, Rdio, and Slacker.
As of this writing the Spotify website wasn't allowing people to sign-up for the free version of service service - rather only soliciting invitation requests. But you can sign up for the paid Spotify Premium ($10/month) or Unlimited ($5/month) versions of Spotify.
Better than Pandora?
Spotify's got a few perks that users are looking forward to: for one thing, it's free. And another thing--it lets you play tracks on demand, instead of listening to a customized radio station ala Pandora. (See Related: Pandora Unveils Redesigned Site ) Spotify also allows users to create playlists, share tracks and playlists with friends, and import tracks from iTunes.
