November 28, 2008 by sharky
Unfortunately, if you live in the U.S., Canada or Mexico, you’re on the blacklist for Spotify; as it’s not currently available in all locations - even if you opt for a premium account. But don’t let that stop you. First, you need to find an invite. Second, you need to sign up through a web proxy from a supported country.
EDIT: Dec 08/08 - It appears that UK proxies are now being blocked. I just tried a Polish Proxy, and it worked: http://secretproxy.pl, or try one from THIS LIST. Additionally, we’ve updated the accessibility in a future article here.
Finding An Invite To Spotify:
Spotify recently released invites to existing members, so it shouldn’t be all that difficult to find a way in. If you’re a torrenter, What.cd offers PU users an opportunity (here); and Torrent Forums everywhere now have invites being offered. Getting invited is easy; being able to sign up and access Spotify in an "unsupported" location takes a little more effort. Here’s how to do it:
Use Gmail:
Above all else, use a GMAIL account; it is non-ISP specific and won’t block the invite or mark it as spam like other free email services.
Joining Spotify in Banned Locations
It’s assumed you have now received your invitation to Spotify via your Gmail account. If you live in North America, or any other country that can’t access the Spotify service, you’ll need to open your invite link in a web proxy from a supported country.
Thus, do not click on the link highlighted above. Instead, "copy" the link (in Firefox - right-click, select ‘Copy Link Location’ as shown below).
Now, visit a European web proxy, and "Paste" your invitation link into the Web Address field. A good one for this is http://defilter.co.uk. It should appear similar to this:
Click "Go" or hit enter; you should now be redirected to the signup page for Spotify (in the web proxy). Set up your account with a username / password, and your valid Gmail email address. It’s also important to note that you’ll need a valid UK postal code (postcode), since this proxy is hosted in the UK. A list of valid UK postcodes can be found here.
After the account has been successfully set up, you’ll be directed to a "Download Spotify" link. Now, this won’t work through this web proxy (due to file size limitations & proxies), so you’ll need to download the Spotify Installer application from a non-proxied browser tab at one of these locations (or just click below to open):
For Windows users — http://www.spotify.com/en/download/windows/
For Mac users — http://www.spotify.com/en/download/mac/
After installing, you’ll be presented with a welcome screen and have total access to the Spotify program and its services.
Important NOTES:
You’ll need to login to your Spotify account at least once every two weeks in the web proxy (defilter.co.uk). To do this, simply launch http://defilter.co.uk again, and enter this link to sign in: https://www.spotify.com/en/account/overview/
Your Login screen should appear similar to this:
If there’s anything I’ve missed, don’t hesitate to add a comment below. As a side note to Spotify, check out www.spotifyfriends.com, where users can browse, search for, and download other members’ submitted playlists.
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