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If you haven't already heard about Spotify, you haven't read much on the internet. Spotify is an online music index of sorts, it allows you to search for and discover music, share it and stream it.  Spotify has officially launched here in the United States.  It claims to have more than 10 million users and 1.6 of those paying users.  Music index and streaming services like these have been popping up all over town, such as Pandora, Grooveshark, Aol just launched one as well and other's stream video like Hulu.  

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Spotify, much like Grooveshark, offers a free, limited version with advertisements to help share the financial cost.  With a hail of piracy issues in the entertainment industry, Spotify seems to have created buzz about their service and with their alternative to piracy could breathe a breath of air into the music sales business. With 300 employees and some heavy buzz about their launch, Spotify may just catch on here in the U.S. like it has in Europe, across Sweden, Norway, France, Finland, Britain, Spain and the Netherlands.

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There is a growing library of 13 million songs currently in Spotify's music index and where there's a device and internet there's a way to stream your music. Create, save and share your playlists with friends with a familiar interface that's pretty easy to use.  A full unlimited monthly plan is offered at a reasonable $4.99 per month but this will only allow you to access from a pc and play without ads. A  premium plan goes for $9.99 a month and allows access from any device, smartphone, tablet or other, also providing offline and higher quality streams.

Only time will tell if Spotify will outshine a Grooveshark or Pandora, but there's a free version that you should give a go. Spotify has just launched here in the U.S. and are offering a signup for invite at: http://www.spotify.com/us/hello-america/ .  iPhone and Android apps are already available and ready for download. 

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