i'm very much a latecomer to spotify, having only recently noticed that you can now get an account without needing a facebook account. i agree that it does encourage the 'switch it on and leave it running' approach, background muzak, with little thought about the original artists. i well remember the days when you'd buy an album (vinyl), study the sleeve artwork, notes etc and listen repeatedly to the tracks over the ensuing days and weeks. and this was in the days when i was an active musician gigging in london and roundabout. but i hope i still have enough respect for the music i hear on spotify to seek out and ultimately purchase any music i find i'm coming back to time and again. in the space of a couple of weeks it has already hugely increased my exposure to artists i'd never heard of, much as, for example, paradise radio did (and still does). so i think that probably those of us who have always treated music as an add-on to life will continue to do so, via spotify or otherwise. and for those of us for whom music is pretty central to our makeup, we'll continue to explore, listen to, analyse and purchase the music we like.
