7 ms·

Who cares if you can't export your playlists. You probably used their proprietary recommendation systems to generate them anyways. And its not like I can't wri

by IpV8 8y ago

Who cares if you can't export your playlists. You probably used their proprietary recommendation systems to generate them anyways. And its not like I can't write down all of my playlists and recreate them elsewhere. Why should Spotify go out of their way to make it easier for me to switch off of their platform. I refused to get fired up over this non-issue.

CharlesW 8y ago
> Who cares if you can't export your playlists. Many people spend lots of time carefully creating playlists, consider them theirs, and would like to bring them with if and when they switch vendors. > Why should Spotify go out of their way to make it easier for me to switch off of their platform. The problem is that (allegedly) Spotify was fine with this, and then they weren't. Yes, everyone should know that everyone dependent on a platform is subject to their whims. However, it's still possible to find empathy with the author.
mental1896 8y ago
This is noteworthy because it's an act that favors the company at the consumer's expense--like how grocery stores put necessities on the periphery, forcing exposure to other items; or how cable companies gradually raise prices over time. It's a dick thing to do and I regard it as adversarial. They've also recently started showing promoted tracks in "Release Radar" & "Discovery Weekly" which cannot be disliked. Just another reason to keep your mind open to other services.
wheelie_boy 8y ago
Yeah, the context for this is that spotify recently launched a website & EU legal complaint against apple for not opening up its platform sufficiently to competitors (or not sufficiently prioritizing feature work desired by competitors). I assume OP found spotify's actions hypocritical, which is why they posted this. Then the question is whether we should see spotify's 'time to play fair' website as a true statement of principle, or a cynical attempt to sway public opinion against actions that harm it as a business, but that it would be more than happy to engage in itself if it were in apple's position.
- fjp 8y ago
  Making it so your data structures in a Saas platform can't instantly be ported to a competitor is standard and a no-brainer business practice in my opinion. Spotify's complaint against Apple is that they're abusing the App Store platform to an anticompetitive end because non-Apple apps have disadvantages on the platform that Apple's competing apps don't. I think this owning-the-platform-while-also-selling-on-it situation we see Apple, Amazon, and others in is something that we will see formal regulations appear on in the coming decade.
  - wheelie_boy 8y ago
    So would it be similar if Spotify created some of the media that it put on its own platform? For example if it just bought two podcast companies?
    - fjp 8y ago
      I would assume there would not be the same application of antitrust law, if any (IANAL) because Spotify isn't a marketplace that sells the podcasts. That situation would be more comparable to Netflix since you're just paying a bundled subscription and you're getting 3rd-party work as well as Netflix originals. While openness would be awesome to have, they don't really have any obligation to provide it. Of course it's not exactly like Netflix since you can self-publish onto Spotify so there's wrinkles. But my point is that it's a lot different than operating a buying/selling marketplace.
      - wheelie_boy 8y ago
        Because spotify owns the podcast companies, and podcasts have paid ads, spotify directly benefits if they are played more often. That is not the case with netflix. But they are doing some things the same as netflix, in that they are also creating exclusive podcasts to drive traffic to their platform.
        solarkraft 8y ago

by IpV8 8y ago

CharlesW 8y ago

> Who cares if you can't export your playlists. Many people spend lots of time carefully creating playlists, consider them theirs, and would like to bring them with if and when they switch vendors. > Why should Spotify go out of their way to make it easier for me to switch off of their platform. The problem is that (allegedly) Spotify was fine with this, and then they weren't. Yes, everyone should know that everyone dependent on a platform is subject to their whims. However, it's still possible to find empathy with the author.

mental1896 8y ago

This is noteworthy because it's an act that favors the company at the consumer's expense--like how grocery stores put necessities on the periphery, forcing exposure to other items; or how cable companies gradually raise prices over time. It's a dick thing to do and I regard it as adversarial. They've also recently started showing promoted tracks in "Release Radar" & "Discovery Weekly" which cannot be disliked. Just another reason to keep your mind open to other services.

wheelie_boy 8y ago

Yeah, the context for this is that spotify recently launched a website & EU legal complaint against apple for not opening up its platform sufficiently to competitors (or not sufficiently prioritizing feature work desired by competitors). I assume OP found spotify's actions hypocritical, which is why they posted this. Then the question is whether we should see spotify's 'time to play fair' website as a true statement of principle, or a cynical attempt to sway public opinion against actions that harm it as a business, but that it would be more than happy to engage in itself if it were in apple's position.

fjp 8y ago
Making it so your data structures in a Saas platform can't instantly be ported to a competitor is standard and a no-brainer business practice in my opinion. Spotify's complaint against Apple is that they're abusing the App Store platform to an anticompetitive end because non-Apple apps have disadvantages on the platform that Apple's competing apps don't. I think this owning-the-platform-while-also-selling-on-it situation we see Apple, Amazon, and others in is something that we will see formal regulations appear on in the coming decade.
- wheelie_boy 8y ago
  So would it be similar if Spotify created some of the media that it put on its own platform? For example if it just bought two podcast companies?
  - fjp 8y ago
    I would assume there would not be the same application of antitrust law, if any (IANAL) because Spotify isn't a marketplace that sells the podcasts. That situation would be more comparable to Netflix since you're just paying a bundled subscription and you're getting 3rd-party work as well as Netflix originals. While openness would be awesome to have, they don't really have any obligation to provide it. Of course it's not exactly like Netflix since you can self-publish onto Spotify so there's wrinkles. But my point is that it's a lot different than operating a buying/selling marketplace.
    - wheelie_boy 8y ago
      Because spotify owns the podcast companies, and podcasts have paid ads, spotify directly benefits if they are played more often. That is not the case with netflix. But they are doing some things the same as netflix, in that they are also creating exclusive podcasts to drive traffic to their platform.
      - solarkraft 8y ago