5 ms·

I like I'm sure many predicted this would be inevitable regardless how better one product is over another. At the end of the day Spotify can't compete with Appl

I like I'm sure many predicted this would be inevitable regardless how better one product is over another. At the end of the day Spotify can't compete with Apple's budget, and music streaming isn't a long term profitable business on it's own. I love Apple and deep into their ecosystem. However, certainly not a fan of Apple Music. When using on the Mac iTunes is rather horrific since everytime I search it searches local music rather than Apple Music or vice versa, or its in the Podcast tab, etc. They need a dedicated Music app for Mac and universal search without the iTunes store. I'm sure they are moving towards this but until then rather miserable. The Spotify app isn't as clean looking but is much more practical and enjoyable to use. Finally, Apple is about curated playlists, where is Spotify is about algorithms which in my experience is the better route. So while Spotify maybe the better product, at the end of the day, Apple Music is more seamless for people in the Apple Ecosystem of Siri, HomePod, AppleTV and all and in the end will win out. Let's hope Spotify stay's long enough to make Apple Music better. Forgot to add, that personally, I love YouTube Music. The algorithms and search and pool of countless remixes, live performances and old videos/music not on other places is unmatched. It lacks the Apple Ecosystem benefit, but is a hidden gem

Axsuul 9y ago
You're talking like Spotify's days are numbered. Spotify has many ways it can outcompete Apple on, not just budget. Just like Lyft did with Uber, DuckDuckGo with Google, etc. This is not a winner-takes-all market. What Apple has done here is they've captured their ecosystem users that likely would have never signed up with Spotify in the first place.
- AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
  No, this also shows that Apple has successfully yanked users out of Spotify. Not surprising in the least. The fact is: the music industry is indeed a winner-take-all market now. The industry's horrible response to Napster crippled them, and their inability to outmaneuver Steve Jobs in the aftermath led to a rather diminished industry overall. We see this in both recorded and live music - just look at LiveNation's rise to dominance following Apple's rise to dominance for distribution with iTunes. Music also suffers from the same problem as other older media - competition for ears and for time. Video games are hurting music just as much as it's hurting film. Music consumption has become cheapened over the years as technology left it in the dust, preferring to adapt video to our current media-heavy lives. Audio mediums have been traditionally not as paid attention to. Our culture is simply moving on from this kind of media, in a sense.
  - Axsuul 9y ago
    > No, this also shows that Apple has successfully yanked users out of Spotify. Not surprising in the least. Not quite sure about this. Spotify is still growing and adding more users than ever. If Apple were seriously making a dent in Spotify's user base, we would've seen it affect their growth rate. Not everyone is in the Apple ecosystem--an overwhelming majority aren't. In the end, who makes the better product here? Spotify has way more clients, a better product, completely focused on being a music platform, and still carries the coolness factor between the two. There is a lot of incentive for a consumer who is deep within the Apple ecosystem to sign up for Apple music. On the contrary, in the free market, I'd argue Spotify wins out hands down. > Music also suffers from the same problem as other older media - competition for ears and for time. Video games are hurting music just as much as it's hurting film. Music consumption has become cheapened over the years as technology left it in the dust, preferring to adapt video to our current media-heavy lives. Audio mediums have been traditionally not as paid attention to. Our culture is simply moving on from this kind of media, in a sense. Music is typically a passive form of media (often playing in the background while work is done) therefore there are not very many mediums that can compete on that; movies, video games require you to be actively engaged with them. You can listen to music while playing games! Music is here to stay.
    - AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
      > Music is typically a passive form of media That is only true of the past 20 years or so of the music industry's history. I would sit and listen to music on my own, or with friends in a non-passive setting - every day as a kid. That was only 15 years ago. Tell a musician in an orchestra that music is only listend to passively. It's so unbelievably offensive to the art, and so remarkably untrue. > You can listen to music while playing games! Music is here to stay. If they are able to be listened to while playing video games, maybe. What kind of garbage music would that include, and what beautiful and culturally-essential music would that exclude?
      - Axsuul 9y ago
        I never said music was only listened to passively, "typically" was what I aforementioned. Typically we are driving to work, working out, cooking while listening to music. It's not too often we are at venues where it is indeed an active activity. Kids are probably listening to just as much music (I have younger siblings in grade school, n=2) but they're also more pre-occupied nowadays with other activities while consuming it. > If they are able to be listened to while playing video games, maybe. What kind of garbage music would that include, and what beautiful and culturally-essential music would that exclude? We don't know and we can't assume the music is garbage just because one isn't giving it the full attention it deserves.
- scarface74 9y ago
  Spotify still isn't profitable. It's hard to make your whole business around something that larger companies (Apple, Google, Amazon) see as just a feature.
  - Axsuul 9y ago
    What does that say about who makes the better product if larger companies just see it as a feature?
    - scarface74 9y ago
      It depends. You may be able to find better features from a company that specializes but the integration a company can provide with its feature may make it better. For instance, Apple can seamlessly combine a person's iTunes library of bought music dating back to 2003, with thier ripped music and their subscription music.
remir 9y ago
I'm personally getting tired of ecosystem lock-ins, so Spotify is a great alternative because they're available everywhere. Also, the UX of Spotify Connect is great.
- designcode 9y ago
  Apple Music is available on multiple platforms
- TheArcane 9y ago
  > Also, the UX of Spotify Connect is great. The color scheme and layouts are beautiful.

Axsuul 9y ago

You're talking like Spotify's days are numbered. Spotify has many ways it can outcompete Apple on, not just budget. Just like Lyft did with Uber, DuckDuckGo with Google, etc. This is not a winner-takes-all market. What Apple has done here is they've captured their ecosystem users that likely would have never signed up with Spotify in the first place.

AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
No, this also shows that Apple has successfully yanked users out of Spotify. Not surprising in the least. The fact is: the music industry is indeed a winner-take-all market now. The industry's horrible response to Napster crippled them, and their inability to outmaneuver Steve Jobs in the aftermath led to a rather diminished industry overall. We see this in both recorded and live music - just look at LiveNation's rise to dominance following Apple's rise to dominance for distribution with iTunes. Music also suffers from the same problem as other older media - competition for ears and for time. Video games are hurting music just as much as it's hurting film. Music consumption has become cheapened over the years as technology left it in the dust, preferring to adapt video to our current media-heavy lives. Audio mediums have been traditionally not as paid attention to. Our culture is simply moving on from this kind of media, in a sense.
- Axsuul 9y ago
  > No, this also shows that Apple has successfully yanked users out of Spotify. Not surprising in the least. Not quite sure about this. Spotify is still growing and adding more users than ever. If Apple were seriously making a dent in Spotify's user base, we would've seen it affect their growth rate. Not everyone is in the Apple ecosystem--an overwhelming majority aren't. In the end, who makes the better product here? Spotify has way more clients, a better product, completely focused on being a music platform, and still carries the coolness factor between the two. There is a lot of incentive for a consumer who is deep within the Apple ecosystem to sign up for Apple music. On the contrary, in the free market, I'd argue Spotify wins out hands down. > Music also suffers from the same problem as other older media - competition for ears and for time. Video games are hurting music just as much as it's hurting film. Music consumption has become cheapened over the years as technology left it in the dust, preferring to adapt video to our current media-heavy lives. Audio mediums have been traditionally not as paid attention to. Our culture is simply moving on from this kind of media, in a sense. Music is typically a passive form of media (often playing in the background while work is done) therefore there are not very many mediums that can compete on that; movies, video games require you to be actively engaged with them. You can listen to music while playing games! Music is here to stay.
  - AndrewUnmuted 9y ago
    > Music is typically a passive form of media That is only true of the past 20 years or so of the music industry's history. I would sit and listen to music on my own, or with friends in a non-passive setting - every day as a kid. That was only 15 years ago. Tell a musician in an orchestra that music is only listend to passively. It's so unbelievably offensive to the art, and so remarkably untrue. > You can listen to music while playing games! Music is here to stay. If they are able to be listened to while playing video games, maybe. What kind of garbage music would that include, and what beautiful and culturally-essential music would that exclude?
    - Axsuul 9y ago
      I never said music was only listened to passively, "typically" was what I aforementioned. Typically we are driving to work, working out, cooking while listening to music. It's not too often we are at venues where it is indeed an active activity. Kids are probably listening to just as much music (I have younger siblings in grade school, n=2) but they're also more pre-occupied nowadays with other activities while consuming it. > If they are able to be listened to while playing video games, maybe. What kind of garbage music would that include, and what beautiful and culturally-essential music would that exclude? We don't know and we can't assume the music is garbage just because one isn't giving it the full attention it deserves.
scarface74 9y ago
Spotify still isn't profitable. It's hard to make your whole business around something that larger companies (Apple, Google, Amazon) see as just a feature.
- Axsuul 9y ago
  What does that say about who makes the better product if larger companies just see it as a feature?
  - scarface74 9y ago
    It depends. You may be able to find better features from a company that specializes but the integration a company can provide with its feature may make it better. For instance, Apple can seamlessly combine a person's iTunes library of bought music dating back to 2003, with thier ripped music and their subscription music.

remir 9y ago

I'm personally getting tired of ecosystem lock-ins, so Spotify is a great alternative because they're available everywhere. Also, the UX of Spotify Connect is great.

designcode 9y ago
Apple Music is available on multiple platforms
TheArcane 9y ago
> Also, the UX of Spotify Connect is great. The color scheme and layouts are beautiful.