Spotify is free on a desktop if you're willing to sit through a commercial every 5-7 songs or so. I guess there is no need for such an infrastructure.

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 20, 2014, at 6:12 PM, John Vallier <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi Tom,
>
> Thanks for the feedback. I believe we asked about institutional Spotify accounts before and were told no, but it's worth another try. Agreed about having born digital users contribute to the project. My Gen-X old school analog tendencies disqualify me from adding a true 21st century perspective. So, in that spirit, if you are reading this and have a born-digital perspective to add to this project, please let me know ([log in to unmask]).
>
> Thank you,
>
> John
>
>> On May 18, 2014, at 9:00 PM, ARSCLIST automatic digest system wrote:
>>
>> Date: Sun, 18 May 2014 07:10:08 -0400
>> From: Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: Future of CDs
>>
>> Hi John:
>>
>> I'm wondering if there is a scenario where, at about the same budget level as current CD-purchasing,
>> libraries can gain arrangements with something like Spotify so a patron logs in using their library
>> username and password and gets a certain amount of access -- perhaps not all they can eat but
>> perhaps a certain number of hours per month. There is a download system called Freegal, of which I'm
>> sure you're aware. They have it in both my home and work public library systems, but the selection
>> is mostly Sony-only and patrons are limited to 3 downloads per week so it's not terribly practical
>> as far as variety and building a collection of legal downloads. However, my attitude to Freegal is,
>> well I probably wouldn't buy some or most of the music I get that way through retail channels, but
>> some of it turns out in frequent rotation, so I am grateful to my library for offering the service.
>>
>> There may be a generation of library patrons coming up who don't want to look through shelves of CDs
>> and would much rather prefer to use their computer to borrow whatever music or video they desire. I
>> hope you have some 20-something "born digital" folks on your committee, because they are the library
>> users of the coming decades. The Boomers are now fading, and me and my Gen-X mates aren't far behind
>> them. "The Kids" seem to have very different media consumption habits, and a forward-looking library
>> must take that into account, in my opinion. Otherwise, its enthusiastic supporters and those who see
>> to its funding will die off and it will fade away.
>>
>> -- Tom