Getting more for your money from Spotify

A LOT of you, like me, will have started paying for the privilege of using Spotify after they introduced limitations to the programme at the start of this month.
And I'm sure a lot of you, like me, want to make the most of the service now you've actually got your wallets out.
So here are some of the external sites you can use alongside Spotify to make the most - and of course, all of these work with the free version too, you skinflints...
FACEBOOK
Apologies if I'm running an egg-sucking course with this one, but hook up your Spotify account to your Facebook account and you can see what your friends and listening too, send and recieve tracks, and subscribe to their playlists. You can also add other users not connected to you on Facebook - feel free to add my profile to your player and drop a track or two into my inbox.
Also, while you're logged in to Facebook, join Sound Advice's Fan Page, cheers.
SHARE MY PLAYLISTS
If you want to find playlists, for any occasion, and fast, this site is also worth a visit - especially for things like Christmas and Hallowe'en compilations.
SPOTIMY
As well as compiling lists of lists of lists based on reviews of albums, the kind people at Spotimy spend each Monday putting together a playlist of all the week's new releases - an essential service in my humble opinion.
MORE TRACKS LIKE THIS
If you're on the hunt for new music, More Tracks Like This will take your song suggestions and find new songs based on the listening habits of Spotify and Last.FM users, and often throws up interesting suggestions.
LAST.FM
If recommendations are your thing however, you must, must, must be on Last.FM. Register for Last.FM, and the can then track your listening history in Spotify and other players and websites like Hype Machine, and provide you with personalised charts - see my page for examples - and more importantly recommend new music based on your preferences.
It's a goldmine, people, a goldmine.

Download top up line-up with new names

MORE new names have been shoe-horned onto this year’s epic Download Festival line-up.

The line-up has been released for the Jagermeister Rock Truck acoustic stage - including acts like Bowling For Soup, Skin and more in an intimate setting.

And elsewhere new bands have been revealed, including Slaves to Gravity, Obsessive Compulsive, Verses, Heaven’s Basement, Million Dollar Reload, Maiden United, Voodoo Johnson, Red White And Blues, Modestep, Don Broco, Kill 21, Fighting Wolves, H.E.A.T and You And What Army.

You can listen to a playlist of nearly all confirmed acts here.

Park up and listen to Driver Drive Faster

I KNOW this blog is pretty void of posts these days, but as reward for coming back just in case, here's a free mp3 for you all to enjoy.
Up-and-coming band Driver Drive Faster, of Manchester, are set to release It’s All Over It’s Everywhere ahead of their album Open House.
And they've been kind enough to offer up a free download of b-side Gravel Dents.
Grab it here.