Here’s the dope on the new Echofi app from Spotify.

Coincidentally, I just did a whole series of posts on the music industry, arts in general and whether technology is killing or saving them.

I rambled on about how I don’t pay for music anymore. (Who does?) I’ve been using Pandora to find new artists (artists that are new to me, whether they’re new on the scene or old) and then listen to them on Spotify.

It’s been awesome. If I hear a song on Pandora I really like, I do a quick search for them in Spotify. The artist’s discography comes up, and I just copy and drag it to one of my playlists (classic rock, indie rock, hip hop, DJ, classical, jazz, et cetera). The whole thing takes like ten seconds.

But look out—it just got easier because Spotify just released its own Pandora-like service. Instead of Pandora’s 1 million or so songs, though, it has Spotify’s 15 million or so. Pretty sick.

You just go to Echofiapp.com, type in an artist and hit play. When the browser window opens for you to choose an app to run, choose Spotify (obviously, you need to have Spotify and have it running).

The Echofi/Spotify combo is what I was doing before, just with one step less. You can love or hate or skip songs like in Pandora. The only thing you can’t do (that I’ve noticed right off the bat) is see previous songs—so if you hear a song but don’t catch the artist, you miss it.

You can hit the back button in Spotify, which is the app actually playing the songs. I just like how you can see a breadcrumb trail of what you listened to in Pandora. I’d like it if Echofi did, especially because like every other song is by an artist I’ve never even heard of before. (Seriously, Spotify is awesome.)

The other thing I’ve noticed about Echofi in my limited use is songs skipping because of licensing agreements and some unknown reason. It seems a touch glitchy at first blush.

Nothing major, just songs occasionally skipping in the middle to the next one for no apparent reason (not a big deal if you’re just scoping new artists, but still…). Also, sometimes Echofi says it’s playing one song but Spotify is actually playing another. Not sure what that’s about.

One thing—I’m running the free version of Spotify that you get with an invitation from someone who has the premium version ($10/month). The person I got the invite from who pays for it hasn’t noticed any little glitches yet.

In any case, the dope on the Echofi/Spotify combo is that it’s dope—the best thing since sliced bread, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve already discovered a bunch of new artists I like.

But if you haven’t jumped on the Spotify (and now Echofi/Spotify) bandwagon yet, don’t feel bad. It wasn’t even available in the U.S. until mid-July. Spotify launched in Sweden in 2008 and quickly grew. The U.S. launch was held up by wrangling between Spotify and the major record labels over licensing. I assume that’s why it’s only in the dozen or so countries it’s in so far.

Actually, Spotify just got hit with a patent infringement lawsuit over music-streaming software, according to cnet news. Software designer PacketVideo is claiming Spotify is perpetrating and encouraging infringement by others regarding its software, which the company claims is embedded in some 320 products and 260 million devices worldwide.

Well, we’ll see what happens with that. But in the meantime, I’m gonna search this band I’m listening to real quick…