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Spotify popular among NCF Students BY JASMINE RESPESS Companies big and small have been scrambling to get a leg up in a business where dealing with record labels, artists and piracy creates legitimate problems. Music streaming did not start or end with the Swedish company Spotify, but in recent years the company has taken over the music streaming market. Beginning with only a couple employees, 1,500 people are now employed at Spotify. The company currently boasts 45 million free users and 15 million paying customers who typically are charged $10 a month. Spotify often offers free trials and student discounts that lessen the cost to $4.99. Users have access to more than 30 million songs on the Spotify music database. At New College, students have largely shifted from torrenting music illegally due to the potential legal consequences and the slowing of the campus Internet. Spotify is as popular at New College as anywhere else in the country, with 23 out of 30 students randomly polled saying they used the service. Ten out of the 23 surveyed paid for the Spotify service with an average of $4.99 a month. Another service popular with New College students is YouTube, most commonly as a supplement to using an additional music-streaming provider. Along with YouTube, Pandora and 8tracks also offer ways to listen to music
Photo courtesy of Spotify
The browsing feature on Spotify allows users to explore their music interests and new music releases.
online for free, providing an alternative to paid options through companies such as Spotify and Amazon. “I have used Spotify for longer than I think a lot of people have,” third-year Daniel Anderson-Little said. “They now offer playlist and browsing features.” A few NCF users reported they have not been able to use Spotify due to incompatibility with their computer software. Others are not attracted by Spotify’s discounts since they usually require a sign-up process or a link to the user’s social media profiles. Last year, Apple acquired the streaming service Beats Music for $3
billion in an attempt to take the label of most popular streaming company away from Spotify. This was an important move for both Beats and Apple because Beats had become surprisingly influential in the music industry. Apple wanted to take acquisition of Beats to further their control of the music market. Apple has been able to get music rights from long-time popular holdouts such as the Beatles and Metallica. Beats creators Dr. Dre and Jimmy Lovine have stated that Apple’s business model greatly influenced their own company. Beats also benefited by being absorbed by one of the largest
companies to date and having access to the best technology thereby gaining precedent. According to The Associated Press, “The growing popularity of music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify has been reducing sales of songs and albums, a business that iTunes has dominated for the past decade. U.S. sales of downloaded songs slipped one percent last year to $2.8 billion while streaming music revenue surged 39 percent to $1.4 billion.” The Apple streaming system is priced at $9.99 a month, although it had originally been advertised at $7.99 a month – a price that was supposed to be a more attractive selling point and make them more competitive. The main complaint is that iTunes users still have to pay for individual songs on iTunes, but even paying for individual albums is becoming less popular. “I do not think Apple will be able to convince people like me who do not use Apple products to use their streaming service,” thesis student Aaron Olinger said. “Even if it is Android compatible.” Information from this article was taken from www.npr.org, www. bangkokpost.com, www.forbes.com, www. wsj.com, www.forbes.com
“Kingsman”: A spy movie for every audience BY CAITLYN RALPH I tried to convince them to see “The Lazarus Effect.” The whole gentleman spy genre does not really appeal to me, so when my friends decided on “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” I was reluctant but willing to give it a go. I watched the trailer a few months back and did not remember anything special, just fighting, explosions and all the other typical action movie attributes. However, “Kingsman” wound up being a multifaceted film with potential to entertain all types of audiences. Originally formed by tailors who lost their heirs to World War I, “Kingsman” is a secret service/ gentleman spy troupe that silently triumphs over evil around the world. When one of their members is murdered, each of the agents must offer a possible replacement. The plot is framed when Harry “Galahad” Hart suggests Gary “Eggsy” Unwin a troubled, mischievous kid. Hart owes Eggsy and his mom a favor of their choosing, due to a certain circumstance that is revealed in the first scene of the movie. Eggsy is played by Taron Egerton. I never heard the name prior, and after looking him up on IMDb, expecting to find a long resume of British action movies, I soon realized that “Kingsman” was the young actor’s big breakthrough. However, with his performance in the role, you would not think so. Egerton’s finesse reminded of the ever-charming Douglas Booth, and I was quickly won
over by his endearing and engaging appeal along with, judging by their reaction, many other theatergoers as well. Egerton managed to balance the smug punk vibe with unsung hero potential, creating an incredibly charismatic, clever and likeable character to carry the audience through the movie. Colin Firth, in his role as Hart, complemented Egerton in a nice role model, father figure kind of way. Samuel L. Jackson was the quirky villain “Valentine,” stealing laughs even in the most intense of scenes. Based on a graphic novel by the same writer of “Kickass,” “Kingsman” is directed by Matthew Vaughn, also credited for “X-Men: First Class.” The goal of “Kingsman” was to reimagine the cliché spy flick. In many scenes, characters made direct reference to “what is supposed to happen here” based on these existing James Bond archetypes. However, the film also touches on deeper concepts, such as abusive relationships, the infiltration of technology into society, and, most prominently, the divide between the have and the have-nots. Commoner Eggsy is often placed among aristocratic competitors who tease his societal standing, thinking less of him and his skills. Even though, in classic blockbuster style, the underdog saves the day, “Kingsman” spits extensive commentary on the struggle to overcome lower class boundaries and the interaction
Photo courtesy of starscoops.com
Kingsman grossed $36 million in its opening weekend.
between the rich and the poor. “Being a Kingsman has nothing to do with the circumstances of one’s birth,” Hart says at one point. “If you’re prepared to adapt and learn, you can transform.” “Kingsman” proved to be unique by grouping awesome fight scenes (decently gory, my inner horror movie fan was happy), intriguing spy gadgets which include fancy umbrellas and posh pens as weapons, and humor appropriately drizzled from beginning to end. Visually, the film was well done (and, I will be honest, Egerton was nice on the eyes as well), and London as a
setting was the perfect backdrop. “I love the soundtrack, the action was spectacular, the effects were amazing, and it was funny,” first-year student and avid movie watcher Connie J. Miranda said right after seeing “Kingsman.” “I will see it again.” Overall, “Kingsman” successfully turned around the stereotyped gentleman spy plot to create a versatile and accessible movie that a variety of audiences can easily enjoy. Information from this article was taken from www.imdb.com