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I'm a happy user of Spotify, but I have kept all of my MP3's and such locally. I am also well aware that Spotify may shut down some day, and I'll simply gather

I'm a happy user of Spotify, but I have kept all of my MP3's and such locally. I am also well aware that Spotify may shut down some day, and I'll simply gather local copies of everything I like, during the shutdown period. It's not like they're going to shut down instantly from one day to the next, there'll be a reasonable warning period. As for music disappearing, I have only ever seen that on my ISP's own streaming service, I've never actually seen it happen on Spotify.

Normal_gaussian 9y ago
Tracks get pulled from spotify regularly as deals expire and aren't renewed. My fiveour hour piano playlist is missing a few, as is my 400 song revising playlist from university (its down to 394) - what they are I don't know, I just know they are less.
- Bakary 9y ago
  It may not always work but there is an option in settings that shows these so-called "unavailable" tracks. Not helpful but it will at least bring closure.
  - dehue 9y ago
    I find that feature very helpful. If a track I like is no longer available and I enjoy it enough to want to download it, I can always go somewhere where it is available and buy it/download it. Much better than it just randomly disappearing and then having to remember what track could possibly be missing out of my 100+ song playlist.
  - Normal_gaussian 9y ago
    Thanks for this! It is helpful as it allows me to make manual corrections
Piskvorrr 9y ago
"there'll be a reasonable warning period" - wishful thinking, I'm afraid.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  Do you really think they can just pull the plug instantly, on millions of paying subscribers? At the very least, there will be a 1-month warning period, to let paid subscriptions run out. Besides that, I think it is in the best interest of the record labels to keep Spotify going. They're absolutely raking in the cash from streaming, and have just posted their largest industry revenue increase in 20 years. I think they would be willing to keep Spotify going on life support, as long as it makes them money.
  - Piskvorrr 9y ago
    We've seen enough examples, from the original dotcom bubble to present. "As of now, the service is no more, sorry." Should they? No. Can they? Yes they can - why couldn't they?
  - pavel_lishin 9y ago
    > Do you really think they can just pull the plug instantly, on millions of paying subscribers? Yes. Why not? There's no physical law forbidding it, and I'd wager their T&Cs contain a way to do so. They could even be magnanimous and refund the un-used portion of your last month, but you're still stuck without the music. > I'll simply gather local copies of everything I like, during the shutdown period Assuming their servers can handle millions of paying subscribes downloading all of their music all at once.
    - KozmoNau7 9y ago
      > Assuming their servers can handle millions of paying subscribes downloading all of their music all at once. Not from Spotify, from other sources. A lot of stuff I listen to, I already have as CD rips. A lot of other stuff is available for sale on sites like Bandcamp.
isolli 9y ago
Won't the local copies be DRM-protected in a way that makes them inaccessible when Spotify shuts down?
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  From non-Spotify sources, obviously. A lot of the stuff can be bought on Bandcamp or through other sites.

Normal_gaussian 9y ago

Tracks get pulled from spotify regularly as deals expire and aren't renewed. My fiveour hour piano playlist is missing a few, as is my 400 song revising playlist from university (its down to 394) - what they are I don't know, I just know they are less.

Bakary 9y ago
It may not always work but there is an option in settings that shows these so-called "unavailable" tracks. Not helpful but it will at least bring closure.
- dehue 9y ago
  I find that feature very helpful. If a track I like is no longer available and I enjoy it enough to want to download it, I can always go somewhere where it is available and buy it/download it. Much better than it just randomly disappearing and then having to remember what track could possibly be missing out of my 100+ song playlist.
- Normal_gaussian 9y ago
  Thanks for this! It is helpful as it allows me to make manual corrections

Piskvorrr 9y ago

"there'll be a reasonable warning period" - wishful thinking, I'm afraid.

KozmoNau7 9y ago
Do you really think they can just pull the plug instantly, on millions of paying subscribers? At the very least, there will be a 1-month warning period, to let paid subscriptions run out. Besides that, I think it is in the best interest of the record labels to keep Spotify going. They're absolutely raking in the cash from streaming, and have just posted their largest industry revenue increase in 20 years. I think they would be willing to keep Spotify going on life support, as long as it makes them money.
- Piskvorrr 9y ago
  We've seen enough examples, from the original dotcom bubble to present. "As of now, the service is no more, sorry." Should they? No. Can they? Yes they can - why couldn't they?
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  > Do you really think they can just pull the plug instantly, on millions of paying subscribers? Yes. Why not? There's no physical law forbidding it, and I'd wager their T&Cs contain a way to do so. They could even be magnanimous and refund the un-used portion of your last month, but you're still stuck without the music. > I'll simply gather local copies of everything I like, during the shutdown period Assuming their servers can handle millions of paying subscribes downloading all of their music all at once.
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    > Assuming their servers can handle millions of paying subscribes downloading all of their music all at once. Not from Spotify, from other sources. A lot of stuff I listen to, I already have as CD rips. A lot of other stuff is available for sale on sites like Bandcamp.

isolli 9y ago

Won't the local copies be DRM-protected in a way that makes them inaccessible when Spotify shuts down?

KozmoNau7 9y ago
From non-Spotify sources, obviously. A lot of the stuff can be bought on Bandcamp or through other sites.