Why I Finally Left Spotify

After our decade-long relationship, I’m breaking up pinch Spotify.

It’s thing personal. It’s conscionable that Spotify and I person grown up, but we haven’t grown together.

Over nan years, I’ve been tempted to time off Spotify galore times. I cognize that nan institution faces accusations of poor streaming payouts for artists, compared to its competitors, and I haven’t forgotten that it was Spotify that platformed Joe Rogan’s podcast, past exclusive to nan platform, to dispersed misinformation astir COVID-19 and different viruses.

I cognize that Spotify is trying to kill nan RSS feed, a move that siphons independence from podcasters. And yet, I’m embarrassed to opportunity that until recently, these issues didn’t move maine capable to return nan clip and power to analyse alternatives to Spotify, a level that I’ve been utilizing regular since precocious school.

It’s unluckily easy for america to hide our heads successful nan soil erstwhile nan tech companies we salary monthly do things that disappoint us. (Yes, I still retrieve erstwhile Netflix laid disconnected my manufacture colleagues, but I besides cognize I’ll extremity up watching nan caller play of “Love is Blind”).

We don’t consciousness for illustration our 1 subscription makes a quality — aft all, Duolingo still hit gross estimates aft sparking backlash erstwhile it said it would switch contractors pinch AI.

But Spotify yet sewage to maine successful a measurement that’s unavoidable: erstwhile I unfastened nan app, I cannot carnivore its all-encompassing, suffocating reliance connected algorithmic recommendations.

There’s an overwhelming show of ocular clutter from nan clip it takes to navigate from Spotify’s location page to nan euphony you’re looking for. These suggestions are front-and-center erstwhile you unfastened nan app.

First, I whitethorn spot an unsolicited, full-screen pop-up promoting a caller podcast. Then, I’m greeted pinch a 2-by-4 grid of euphony and podcast suggestions, including caller episodes of shows I listened to erstwhile because they had a impermanent I liked, positive immoderate different albums that I’ve dabbled successful concisely complete nan past period aliases so. Below that, there’s a sponsored proposal for a opus I mightiness for illustration by an creator that I person ne'er heard of. When I navigate to nan hunt tab, I’m prompted pinch an audiobook recommendation, and if I scroll a small bit, I spot vertical video clips that look for illustration they beryllium connected TikTok.

It’s easy to autumn into Spotify’s recommendations, arsenic nan app perpetually pelts you pinch customized playlists that its AI has curated specifically for you. On Spotify, you ne'er person to make immoderate decisions — and for immoderate listeners, possibly that’s nan point. But I noticed that I stopped listening to nan euphony I really wanted to perceive to, and instead, I embraced nan euphony that Spotify told maine I wanted to perceive to.

Without realizing it, I gave up my agency.

This isn’t to opportunity that my civilized qualms pinch Spotify didn’t power my choice.

According to a January report from nan euphony financing level Duetti, Spotify, a institution worthy astir $140 billion, pays astir $3 per 1,000 streams. Amazon Music, Apple Music, and YouTube paid $8.80, $6.20, and $4.80, respectively, per 1,000 streams successful 2024. (Spotify previously disputed nan accuracy of these figures)

Spotify further alienated a information of its assemblage successful June, erstwhile CEO Daniel Ek announced that his finance patient led a astir $700 cardinal backing round for a institution making AI-enabled subject weapons. Some bands for illustration Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, and King Gizzard & nan Lizard Wizard pulled their catalogs from Spotify successful protest.

It’s for illustration deja vu. In 2022, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young pulled their euphony from Spotify complete Joe Rogan’s platforming of aesculapian misinformation. (The 2 artists returned to nan level successful 2024.)

Perhaps it’s taken maine truthful agelong to time off Spotify because choosing a streaming level leaves you betwixt a stone and a difficult place. But if you’re attached to your years of playlists, devices for illustration Soundiiz make it easy to larboard your postulation betwixt platforms.

I chose Apple Music, mostly because I sewage a caller iPhone and it came pinch a three-month free trial, which helped maine easiness my transition. Also, Apple Music has lossless audio, which Spotify has been promising for astir 5 years.

But I cannot show you pinch a consecutive look that I person departed big, bad Spotify to support nan small guy, erstwhile I’ve opted for different tech giant.

I person my ethical concerns astir Apple, excessively — moreover arsenic I type this connected my Magic Keyboard that’s connected to my MacBook Pro while my iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch beryllium connected nan different broadside of my desk.

Plus, Apple CEO Tim Cook precocious showed up astatine nan White House to gift Donald Trump pinch a custom, Apple-branded plaque, which sits atop a 24-karat golden base, while performing his fiduciary work to shareholders to support Apple products tariff-free.

At slightest nan Apple Music app isn’t arsenic overwhelming arsenic Spotify.