This post originally appeared on Spotiguide.

Despite the impressive size of Spotify’s music catalogue there are, inevitably, some annoying omissions. Famously, there is no Beatles or AC/DC due to those artists’ reluctance to join the digital revolution. The likes of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd are similarly absent without leave, and we’re fed only scraps of Bob Dylan and Oasis. We’ve got used to this, and we’ve learned to accept it. But the lack of availability of an increasing number of new and recent releases is more worrying, and Spotify’s official blog and support forum have been filled with queries and complaints.

The number one Spotify-related question we’ve been asked over the past few weeks has been, “When will Vampire Weekend’s new album be available?” Contra was released on 11 January, but has yet to appear on Spotify. The answer, happily for fans of preppy afro-pop, is that it is scheduled to be available for streaming from next week. It seems that the record label, XL Recordings, specifically delayed the album’s Spotify release. The obvious thinking would be that this was an effort to boost sales over the initial few weeks of release. However, XL made the album available to stream in full via the band’s official website. So it is possible to listen to the full album without buying it – just not on Spotify.

It’s likely that some Spotify users will have been unable to wait for the album’s delayed streaming release and will have instead bought the download or CD, but then fans of the band were likely to do that anyway. However, it’s also likely that other Spotify users won’t have sampled the album on Spotify, and therefore won’t have gone on to buy it. Making an album available for streaming via a band’s website is all well and good, but only existing fans visit bands’ websites. XL’s tactic may have prevented Spotify users from trying and buying Contra.

Another high-profile release that has caused consternation among Spotify users is The Betrayed by Lostprophets. The release was actually promoted in a post on the official Spotify blog on 18 January, and the album was available to listen to. For a couple of days. Then, for some reason, The Betrayed was removed from the UK catalogue. It seems that the album is released by Sony in most Spotify territories, but by Warner Music in the UK. And Warner has specifically asked Spotify to remove it from the catalogue. Again, this is preventing potential purchasers from sampling the album.

In general, Spotify is actually pretty good for recent releases. Of the ten albums currently in the iTunes top ten, only Lostprophets and Hope For Haiti are unavailable on Spotify, and it’s understandable that the charity album would not be available to stream. (Vampire Weekend are no longer in the top ten.) A comparison of the top ten tracks, however, is less impressive, with bestselling iTunes tracks from the Glee Cast, Lyaz, Sidney Samson and Example all unavailable on Spotify. On the positive side, Spotify Premium users do occasionally get access to albums ahead of their official release date, such as, this week, Ke$ha’s Animal.

The real problem for Spotify is that a lack of availability of even one key release can make the difference between a music fan signing up for the premium service or sticking to downloads and CDs. If a hotly-anticipated album doesn’t become available, there’s every chance they’ll take their £9.99 that they might have spent on a Spotify Premium subscription and use it to buy the individual album. Great news for the record company (in the short term, anyway) but bad news for a service so keen to increase its subscription base in the UK.

Another problem regarding new releases on Spotify is a lack of notification when new music is added to the catalogue. Until a couple of months ago, Spotify regularly issued Google spreadsheets containing information about all new additions. Unfortunately, due to a change in the way music is added to the service, this has been discontinued. The information contained in the spreadsheets was also used by recommendation services such as Spotify.fm and Last.fm + Spotify, plus a whole host of other websites and blogs. The result is that it’s very difficult to find out what’s new on Spotify.

Until a solution can be found, Pansentient League is hosting a New On Spotify tool, that produces a list of new additions to the Spotify catalogue from the previous week. The tool is limited by Spotify’s API, and it won’t solve the problem for recommendation services, but it’s a useful fix.

Ultimately, Spotify and the labels need to think carefully about how new releases are made available on the service. Users want new releases available on the day of release, suitably presented and easy to find – just like they are on iTunes. Until that happens, Spotify will remain flawed, and its usefulness to the labels will remain limited.

Music, Technology Spotify

Whatever the merits or otherwise of Avatar, there can be no arguing against the fact that James Cameron’s latest blockbuster has redefined the future of cinema. A new type of camera was invented to make the film, and entire cinemas have been built specifically to screen it in all its digital IMAX 3D glory. But is 3D all it is cracked up to be?

I saw the Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience presentation at the brand new Odeon Metrocentre cinema in Gateshead, the only digital IMAX theatre outside of London, and opened in the week of the movie’s release. Screenings were fully-booked days in advance, and we struggled to get tickets for a couple of weeks.

When we did eventually get to see it, we were sat at the front right corner – not great seats for the £12.50 ticket price. The screening was preceded by a brief introduction from a man in a suit who reminded us to return our hefty 3D specs for sterilisation after the movie, and warned us that the immersive nature of the experience might cause illness. But there was no warning of physical injury. Looking up and left at the huge screen for 162 minutes required a painful twisting of the neck and back that left me in pain for a few days afterwards. Injured by a 3D movie! Pah!

The 3D effect certainly works, although the final image appears to be made up of several flat layers, almost like a paper diorama, and so is not particularly realistic. The end result is a little like leafing through a child’s pop-up book. Amusing, and worth a look, but hardly the holy grail of cinema. It seems to me a technology that will be better suited to video games rather than movies. And the sum effect of Avatar is a bit like watching someone play a video game for the best part of three hours.

The movie itself – well, it’s Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure on a bigger budget, isn’t it? To be fair to Cameron, he has obviously tried hard to ensure that the 3D doesn’t get in the way of the story. For example, there are noticeably few arrows and pointy sticks flying out of the screen. But the overall experience still detracts from the movie’s content. Moviegoers around me were constantly removing their glasses to see how the effect worked, and looking around the cinema to see how it was affecting others. Hardly the immersive experience Cameron was trying to create.

And that’s the problem with 3D. Unlike sound and colour, 3D doesn’t represent an advancement in cinema technology. In many ways it’s a backward step. Rather than immerse the cinemagoer in the movie, 3D is an unwelcome distraction. Using 3D for the odd novelty slasher movie is fine, but surely no one want to see it become the standard for every blockbuster movie?

Unfortunately, the amount of money invested in 3D suggests that we’re going to be seeing a lot more of it. Better get used to those specs.

Film, Technology

This week I’m officially launching Spotiguide.

Spotiguide is a brand new website that helps you get more from Spotify with the latest music, news, technology, tips and tools.

The aim is to make Spotify even better, with a hand-picked selection of the best new and classic music to help you navigate Spotify’s huge catalogue, and regular beginners and advanced tools and tips to make Spotify even easier to use.

Spotiguide will also bring you the latest Spotify news, and reviews of Spotify-related technology, such as Spotify-compatible phones.

Check it out at www.spotiguide.com.

Websites Spotify, spotiguide