After our decade of relationship, I am parting with Spotify.
It’s not personal. It’s exactly that Spotify and I’ve grown, but we’re not growing together.
Over the years I’ve wanted to leave Spotify again and again. We know that the company faces accusations of inadequate streaming payments for artists compared to their competitors. He also didn’t forget that the platform’s Joe Rogan podcast is exclusive to the platform and spreads misinformation about Covid-19 and other viruses.
I know Spotify is trying to kill an RSS feed. This is a movement that sucks up independence from the podcaster. Still, until recently, these issues have not moved me enough to put my time and energy into researching alternatives to Spotify, a platform I’ve used every day since high school.
Unfortunately, when the tech companies we pay each month do something that disappoints us, it’s easy to bury our heads in the sand. (Yes, I always remember Netflix I fired a colleague in my industry and I also know I’ll be seeing a new season of “Love is Blind.”
I don’t think one subscription would make a difference. After all, Duolingo still beat the revenue estimate after triggering a backlash when he said he would replace contractors with AI.
But Spotify finally reached me in an inevitable way. When you open the app, you can’t withstand the comprehensive and choking dependency of algorithm recommendations.
From the Spotify homepage to the music you’re looking for, there’s an overwhelming display of visual confusion. These suggestions are the forefront when opening an app.
First, you may see an unsolicited full-screen popup promoting your new podcast. After that, I was greeted with 2 x 4 grids of music and podcast suggestions and guests I liked, including new episodes I once heard, as well as other albums I dabbled in easily the last month or so. Below that are sponsor recommendations for songs that artists I have never heard of before.[検索]Navigate to the tabs and you’ll be asked for audiobook recommendations. Scroll a bit and you’ll see a vertical video clip that appears to belong to Tiktok.
It’s easy to fall into Spotify’s recommendations as the app constantly cheates on customized playlists that are specially curated by AI. With Spotify, you don’t have to make any decisions. For listeners, that may be the key. However, I realized I had actually stopped listening to the music I wanted to listen to, and instead accepted the music that Spotify said he wanted to listen.
Without realizing it, I gave up on being an agency.
This does not mean that my moral anxiety with Spotify didn’t affect my choices.
A company worth around $140 billion will pay around $3 per 1,000 streams, according to a January report by music finance platform Duetti, Spotify. Amazon Music, Apple Music and YouTube paid $8.80, $6.20 and $4.80 per 1,000 streams in 2024, respectively (Spotify previously disputed the accuracy of these numbers)
Spotify further alienated some viewers in June when CEO Daniel Ek announced that his investment company had led nearly $700 million in funding for companies that make AI-ready military weapons. Bands such as Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard pulled catalogs from Spotify in protest.
It’s like Deja Vu. In 2022, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young pulled music from Spotify over Joe Logan’s platform for medical misinformation. (The two artists returned to the platform in 2024.)
Choosing a streaming platform leaves you between the rocks and the difficult places, so it must have taken me so long to leave Spotify. However, tools like Soundiiz make it easy to port collections across platforms when attached to long-standing playlists.
I chose Apple Music. This is mainly because I got a new iPhone and came with a 3 month free trial. Apple Music also has lossless audio, and Spotify has been promising for nearly five years.
But I can’t tell you with a straight face that when I chose another tech giant, I left big and bad Spotify to support a little guy.
There are ethical concerns around Apple as well. Even if you’re typing this on a magic keyboard connected to your MacBook Pro, your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch will still be sitting on the other side of the desk.
Additionally, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently appeared at the White House and gave Donald Trump the Apple branded plaque on top of a 24-carat gold base, fulfilling his fiduciary duties to shareholders to maintain his Apple products.
At least the Apple Music app is not as overwhelming as Spotify.
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