8 ms·

I Quit Spotify

82 points by yarapavan 2y ago

reify 2y ago
sensible move. shitification thats spotify. I would like to see a HN inspired web site that lists all of the bands and musicians where we can click on a link and go directly to the band or musicians web site and buy or download the music directly from them. No middle man earning a small fortune off the backs of those talented musicians.
- simonjgreen 2y ago
  SoundCloud is close to this, and Tidal was intended to be this. Neither quite hit the mark but both are closer than Spotify.
- siquick 2y ago
  Here you go https://bandcamp.com/ https://bandcamp.com/
- tomduncalf 2y ago
  Bandcamp is close to this. Unfortunately the website is kind of dated IMO and even core flows like exploring, buying and downloading music feel somewhat painful compared to rivals, and there’s no real recommendation system. I would love to see a Bandcamp streaming service which fairly compensates artists and has a more discovery focussed UI, but they don’t seem that interested in evolving the product for whatever reason (they have had a fairly rough sounding series of acquisitions)
  - nsteel 2y ago
    I'd like to see them provide an API and let others sort it out for them.
  - crtasm 2y ago
    I know it's not what you're asking for but looking at who bought something I like, finding a few users with interesting looking collections and following them works quite well for recommendations for me. Sometimes I'll search for a specific DJ's user account to follow. There's also the Discover tool at the bottom of their homepage which includes 'artist-recommended', a new and notable section, and they have regular blog posts for various genres. You could also try https://bc-explorer.app/ https://bc-explorer.app/
- nine_k 2y ago
  Have you looked at bandcamp.com? It's not exactly what you envisioned, but still a very useful tool for independent bands, and for discovery.
jwilber 2y ago
Anecdotally, and without having read this, I unsubscribed and stopped using the app just last week. I think YouTube has better recommendations and selection.
avh02 2y ago
Don't get me wrong, I've started moving away from Spotify, but not entirely for these reasons. Music to me is mostly one big playlist and a few smaller playlists from the same library of my music. And where my music doesn't get randomly yanked because the artist had a fit with Spotify or license issues came up I never understood people's fetishization of albums and "enjoying" an album and all the music app interfaces created around that. I just want a cloud or self hosted version of winamp, where jumping to the next song or queueing it up from my playlist is a hotkey away rather than 12 clicks on a crowded interface. Been moving to navidrome but i expect to eventually need some workarounds to get what i want. Edit: also the poor implementation that is smart shuffle and shoving it down my throat
- golergka 2y ago
  Depends in the genre and artists, some music fits into separate songs where albums are merely a collection, some is created for an album as the primary artform, with a narrative, themes (in a musical and literary sense) and story. Think about it as an opera. Of course, Nessum Dorma sounds great by itself, but wouldn't it hit different if you hear it in the context of the whole story, with emotional buildup and everything?
- kkapelon 2y ago
  > I never understood people's fetishization of albums and "enjoying" an album and all the music app interfaces created around that There are concept/themed albums where the songs tell a story and you are supposed to listen them from start to finish. Also several times an album is actually how the artists themselves wanted to release/listen/publish their songs (instead of individual tracks with no relation among them)
- gherkinnn 2y ago
  > I never understood people's fetishization of albums and "enjoying" an album and all the music app interfaces created around that. Some albums are written to be enjoyed as a whole. A song might set up the next. Listening to an artist album by album gives you an idea of their progression. This might not be for everyone but surely isn't alien.
- 2y ago
marginalia_nu 2y ago
I quit Spotify a few years ago as well. They kept changing stuff, breaking my work flow, with every change it felt like there was more friction to listen to the music and podcasts I wanted, and less friction to listen to algorithmically selected slop I didn't want to listen to. Eventually I just said fuck it. I don't need this source of stress and frustration in my life. I've never looked back. I'm on youtube music now. In many ways it's a worse product, but it at least stays the same and doesn't keep trying to make me change my listening behavior. I suspect Spotify's problem is that they have (or had) too many developers, so you get this pressure to look busy "improving" the product, with endless lateral change as a result instead.
- etrautmann 2y ago
  Yes, this is all over the place sadly. It’s so bad that I barely learn an interface since things are moving around constantly in all apps and websites, so I end up figuring things out every time I need them. I don’t even expect a workflow anymore. I just expect to search through shitty counterintuitive interfaces until I sometimes find what I’m looking for.
- jarl-ragnar 2y ago
  Sounds as much a problem of too many Product Managers all trying to make a mark so they can progress their career. Hence features keep getting added or re-designed.
- dnel 2y ago
  When I left Spotify I remember it being difficult at first, I went around to various competitors who were all objectively worse. I've been using YT music for a few years now too and while it is not as good by a long shot, it's good enough and I feel more in control of my musical journey. You're right that they don't change much, it almost feels like a forgotten product, which probably doesn't bode well for its future with Google being Google.
- cosmotic 2y ago
  Engineers don't decide how things are moved or changed, that's product and maybe ux.
wyager 2y ago
I'm looking for a music app (streaming or otherwise) that supports what seems to me like a basic feature, but which seems to be unsupported in anything I've tried. I want the ability to shuffle my library/play the latest releases/whatever while leaving albums intact. I want to play the entirety of one album in order, then play another album in order, and so on. Anyone know of an app that does this? I'll drop spotify today if some other streaming service can do this.
- LM358 2y ago
  Foobar2000 does this.
- 12907835202 2y ago
  Pretty sure iPod Classic did this. But now I imagine most people don't mind looking at the app every 30-90 minutes to choose a new album. Also just looking at my saved albums in Spotify there's loads of crap in there just because I've downloaded it offline once in the past 10 odd years. A shuffle of these albums would suck. So they'd probably have to fix the saving/favouring of albums before allowing shuffling of them.
- conradfr 2y ago
  I've wanted a "play a random album" since the Winamp days.
- nsteel 2y ago
  mpd can support this e.g. https://github.com/axujen/mpdrandom https://github.com/axujen/mpdrandom
- sumuyuda 2y ago
  If your are on iOS check out Albums, it is built around listening to music in Albums. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/albums-album-focused-player/id1469948986 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/albums-album-focused-player/id...
  - wyager 2y ago
    Thanks, will check this out.
ilrwbwrkhv 2y ago
The problem is that Spotify has to pay huge royalties to the studios instead of being able to make a large margin as other tech companies do. So they get squeezed from both ends, on one side the customer who doesn't want to pay more and on the other side the music industry.
- golergka 2y ago
  Shouldn't scale compensate for that? Any business works in the margin between what suppliers and customers could allow them, record shops too. But traditional businesses couldn't hope to get a significant part of the planet to be their customers.
  - mrkeen 2y ago
    Not if their dealer charges them for each stream
- avtolik 2y ago
  What problems? The articles says "profit margins are hitting new highs, up to thirty per cent."
  - ilrwbwrkhv 2y ago
    Well internally I know from folks that it is dire straits and they have their back against the wall with negotiations.
acl777 2y ago
https://archive.ph/LxdY2 https://archive.ph/LxdY2
jlarocco 2y ago
I knew it was going to go down hill when they killed off 3rd party clients.
ein0p 2y ago
I quit them because they raised prices again. I find the app to be excellent, but paying $240/yr for music most of which I already have on CDs is idiotic.
samwillis 2y ago
We (as a family) moved from Spotify to Apple Music, but it was entirely down to cost. As our kids have grown and gained their own devices we've had to find apps/services that we can share with them. The most successful has been Apple One, having Arcade for them, TV and News for us, the storage, and extras like Fitness, it made sense to get Apple One. At that point we had Apple Music for "free" so decided to migrate after over ten years. Genuinely very happy with it! Many of the complaints in the OP apply to Sonos too though, we brought into it years ago, and are incredible disappointed with the recent changes.
- croo 2y ago
  > decision was entirely down to cost > Whole family uses Apple products I cannot prove it but I feel a contradiction
  - lazyasciiart 2y ago
    > At that point we had Apple Music for "free" The cost decision is "given we have purchased x, which service costs more?"
  - theshrike79 2y ago
    As an anecdote, my kid is in their pre-teens. They're on their second iPad - got the first one at around age 1-2. I think that's a pretty nice TCO right there.
    - nsteel 2y ago
      > got the first one at around age 1-2. That's brave. I've never owned an iPad, are they are they a lot more resilient to being dropped than I think? My 2yo drops what they're playing with about 4 times per minute. I've settled for a yoto player which I don't let them pick up!
      - theshrike79 2y ago
        They've been pretty well coordinated, never dropped tablets and zero broken phones. Meanwhile I see kids at similar ages going around with phones that have screens that are just a complete mush of broken glass. Dunno why.
rumori 2y ago
I moved my family plan from Spotify because they still don’t have an easy to use music locker solution. As an amateur producer I love to have my unreleased music always available. I was already a premium Youtube subscriber to get rid of ads and Youtube music was included. While the UI is not great I can appreciate that it can play and download music from Youtube as well that is not otherwise available on any of the other streaming services. The way Spotify treats third party developers (including myself) with all the unfixed issues being broken for years was just the last nail in the coffin.
agubelu 2y ago
Sort of related: "Why Spotify's "grand strategy" will fail" https://youtu.be/yDWgOwb8kj4 https://youtu.be/yDWgOwb8kj4
8bitsrule 2y ago
>Of course, there aren’t many alternatives for a comprehensive music-streaming service. These days there are 10s of 1000s of radio stations with a web presence. From all over the world. Some have live DJs, some use automation, some have special syndicated programs. Over the years I've tried out many hundreds of them for an hour or two. Some are great! Many have multiple programs each day at regular times. It's a whole 'nother world. Some are college stations, some are long-time businesses like SOMA-FM. I use VLC to listen to them (go to the 'Media' heading, select 'Open Media stream' and paste the URL ... instant play) , and to make a playlist to group stuff by genre or source-type. Audio-quality-wise, if that's a concern, their bit-rates can vary from 50k to 320k. VLC can tell you that. Not a problem; if I don't like what I'm hearing today, I have lots of lossless favorites from my collection on a drive. SOMA-FM has a great selection of genres you can try for starters. Or take a walk on the wild side by searching here [0], a site where all station info has been entered by users... including many that might be in your own neighborhood. Copy the URL and plug it into VLC. [0] https://www.radio-browser.info/#!/ https://www.radio-browser.info/#!/
rckt 2y ago
Interesting how the reasoning is on the UI/algo side when it should be about how artists are treated. I "quit" Spotify or any other streaming service without even subscribing to them.
- lazyasciiart 2y ago
  That's not quitting, that's boycotting perhaps?
  - rckt 2y ago
    Hm, if my personal decision to not use streaming services can be perceived as boycott, then ok. But looks like too big of a word in this case :)
beardyw 2y ago
This is the 5th time this story has been posted in 12 days.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
vesche 2y ago
I also quit Spotify about 6 months ago and went back to Pandora. I’ve been super happy with that decision. Spotify kept me in a weird bubble of sorts always playing the same songs and artists. When I went back to Pandora I rediscovered that their music recommendation engine is amazing! I’m now listening to more new artists than ever and have found way more new music.
- jftuga 2y ago
  I also think Pandora has spot on music recommendations.
minkles 2y ago
Perhaps I’m old but I never got into this at all. I have a very carefully curated collection of music which is combination of CD rips, stuff from bandcamp and bootlegs and piracy. I can’t possibly replicate this with any online music service.
- dclowd9901 2y ago
  What do you do for discovery?
  - minkles 2y ago
    last.fm / gigs / bandcamp. Oh also Meetup music events and I actually play a couple of instruments so get talking to people.
sydbarrett74 2y ago
I too am sick of Spotify. They make it harder and harder for me to access my own library and keep shoving 'recommendations' down my throat. If I want recommendations, I'll ask various meat-suit friends and family members whose musical tastes I respect. Does anyone here have experience with Tidal? I have heard good things about them.
- batiudrami 2y ago
  I found Apple Music is a big improvement over Spotify. The artist and browse pages are still full of algorithmic playlists unfortunately, but on your “Library” tab it functions just like an iPod with only music you’ve added to your library. The biggest issue I have library-wise is with bad release year metadata often being incorrect for rereleases and remasters, and deluxe versions being the default. Irritating but small quarrels in the big scheme of things.
deng 2y ago
PSA for people with kids: Parental controls and QA in Spotify are a bad joke. I found out the hard way that Spotify features tons of videos and that you cannot disable them. See for instance https://open.spotify.com/episode/5KS759AlVGVj34OHPbcx1p https://open.spotify.com/episode/5KS759AlVGVj34OHPbcx1p There's also ton of dubious stuff in the "ASMR" category you probably wouldn't want your kid have access to and that is not caught by the "Explicit" filter, see for instance (NSFW!) https://open.spotify.com/artist/3AxgfSNuDgYnz54lT4jkmT https://open.spotify.com/artist/3AxgfSNuDgYnz54lT4jkmT Needless to say, I immediately canceled the Spotify family account.
- theshrike79 2y ago
  Holy crap, that's straight up porn - no ASMR there. This is the same crap that used to be on those expensive phone services where you'd call and get charged insane amounts for.
  - nunez 2y ago
    Also not ASMR in the slightest.
- ageitgey 2y ago
  This is the reason we cancelled Spotify and moved to Apple Music. Not only do they have a bunch of adult content hidden in there, but they also have tons of "video podcasts" available via search that are compilations of TikTok and streamer trash (like the one you linked). So if you are trying to keep young kids away from TikTok, trash-level Minecraft streamers, etc, but assume Spotify is safe because it is just music, your kids will find it and start getting hooked on TikTok via Spotify. It's really terrible and insidious. It feels like the tech industry is conspiring to get small children hooked. There is a thread several years old on Spotify support where people have been complaining about this and they have done nothing. They are prioritizing engagement via crappy podcasts over delivering a music product that works for a range of customers (families, etc). BTW, Apple Music has been totally fine as a replacement. I actually like it more. And there is a web app that will move all your old playlists over in minutes, so there's very little hassle in switching.
cokeandpepsi 2y ago
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adamhorne 2y ago
I totally recommend Radio FIP (France Inter Paris) for anyone a little frustrated with Spotify. I listen to this for hours each day. I love every one of those hours. Unlike Spotify, expert DJs select a wide range of music from genres that span the globe. Throughout the day, FIP curates an eclectic mix of genres—from jazz to rock, world music to classical—ensuring that I'm constantly exposed to various musical worlds without needing to curate or chase playlists myself. FIP's programming is uninterrupted by DJs or ads, allowing for a seamless, immersive listening experience. The station's French commentary, when it occurs, adds a touch of charm without becoming a distraction, making it easy to "set it and forget it." Do yourself a favour...
- bags43 2y ago
  I can not find a lot music in the app despite my solid french.
  - DavideNL 2y ago
    - "FIP Radio removed from TuneIn" - "...We have removed all France Radio stations from TuneIn as per broadcaster request. We're sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding..." : https://old.reddit.com/r/tunein/comments/1buoei7/fip_radio_removed_from_tunein/ https://old.reddit.com/r/tunein/comments/1buoei7/fip_radio_r... Streams: https://gist.github.com/harperreed/b5ceabbbbca0a79d478ec0b81f449892 https://gist.github.com/harperreed/b5ceabbbbca0a79d478ec0b81...
    - bags43 2y ago
      Thanks.
- curated4ever 2y ago
  Very much appreciate the suggestion. Thank you. I love these curated streams. Really good to have in the background. One I found a long time ago is Radio Paradise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Paradise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Paradise Edit: Love these wide curated music. I think what makes me love FIP and RP is it puts you into a good/mellow/calm mood.
Maakuth 2y ago
With Spotify subcription hikes, one could buy a lot of music. Does a decent MP3 or FLAC store exists nowadays? For some specific albums it's nice to have the physical object of a CD, but in general I'd rather not buy the plastic discs just to rip and store indefinitely.
- crtasm 2y ago
  Yes, try Bandcamp, Junodownload, Bleep, Qobuz. I'm sure there's many more.
leokennis 2y ago
In 10 (5? 25?) years I'd be very interested to read an "insider story" book about Spotify, similar in scope as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Plex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Plex or something. Spotify used to be cool and within the industry, the big example of engineering culture, agile with "the Spotify model" with squads and tribes etc. being able to adapt and ship stuff quickly. But now somehow it seems they regressed into an organization that cannot ship basic features (stuff like lossless audio) for years, and that is more interested in pursuing legal action than in pursuing customers. Reading a book about why would be a good lesson for many people in IT.
- dclowd9901 2y ago
  I think there’s a wider issue plaguing the tech industry right now, and it’s not relegated to any one company. It seems this newest generation of product managers and owners has absolutely no clue how to research, develop and build upon features. It’s the only explanation I have and it’s something I’ve observed in every company I’ve been in. The roles are typically filled with very young people with absolutely no background to support it. What I generally see is they are reactive largely to the whims of leadership, they don’t understand their users, they don’t do any research or testing, they don’t aim for ambitious new ideas (more often aping what other companies do), so we’ve ended up in this milieu of product experiences that feel weirdly homogenous and ultimately very unfitting with what the product should be. I’m just a guy but I hope someone with a louder, more important megaphone writes up something soon on this because the industry needs to shine a spotlight on these folks.
tetrisgm 2y ago
Those of us who aren't deterred by self-hosting, I highly recommend using Roon. It allows you to use your own MP3s/FLACs/Wav, use Tidal/Qobyz for HQ streaming of things you don't have, and the best recommendation engine I've seen in music.
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cutiepie99 2y ago
The whole article is just someone's opinion about how much they don't like spotify that they had to share it with the world. Obviously use what works for you. Use spotify if you like it, use youtube music if you like it, use radio channels if you like them, use any podcast app if you like it, like no one cares about how much you hate a specific app, stop using it and move on :D
misstuned 2y ago
I just started using and paying for Spotify, having been a diehard radio listener all my life (and, in a previous period of my career, worked in the sector). It was more of a reaction against radio rather than being in favour of Spotify, though. I was tired of my listening being characterised by inane commercials, constant depressing negative news, DJs telling us that it's some stranger's birthday, long interviews with some jerk I've never heard of, endless dreadful tracks that I wouldn't choose to listen to. It got to the point where I couldn't figure out why on earth anyone would listen to radio when you can get all the music you like, with no ads, no news, and no Dave Doubledecks, for a few pounds a month. After a couple of weeks of using it, it started recommending music I'd never heard before, and really cool Scottish and Welsh folk music that the radio stations here would never touch, so I've discovered really cool stuff through it. I love that I can tell it never to show me certain artists - for instance, if I never heard Eminem again in my life it'd be too soon, so I've told it to never recommend any tracks by him, whereas local radio plays him incessantly.
theshrike79 2y ago
My reasoning for leaving Spotify was this: - Spotify pays fractions of pennies per play to the artist ($0.00318) - Apple Music pays about three times more ($0.008) - Tidal pays more than Apple Music ($0.01284) I picked Apple because I've got it anyway through Apple One, if I wasn't in The Ecosystem, I'd switch to Tidal since it integrates with PlexAmp directly. https://virpp.com/hello/music-streaming-payouts-comparison-a-guide-for-musicians/ https://virpp.com/hello/music-streaming-payouts-comparison-a...
- TiredOfLife 2y ago
  Your first point contradicts your second. You switched because it was cheaper.
  - theshrike79 2y ago
    Win-win for me. I pay less per month for music for the whole family AND the artist make more for each play.
aliwoto 2y ago
My main reason for quitting spotify: "Your password has been reset"
kristianp 2y ago
Spotify, where's the Foo Fighter's cover of "Down in the Park" from the X-Files soundtrack?!
pcardoso 2y ago
I’m quitting Spotify because of some idiotic family plan policies. We missed an email about address verification, despite we living in the same place for many years and being a paid user for 15 years, and now my wife can’t rejoin the plan for a year. Moving to Tidal, and perhaps starting buying CDs again.
anotherhue 2y ago
Here’s an experiment you can do across any music service, count how many clicks/taps/interactions to go from a cold start to dark side of the moon. Now play their next album that you can’t remember the name of. For bonus fun count how many times it tries to interrupt you and have you listen to something cheaper, their in house podcasts or whatever the latest rap album they’re pushing is, despite that after tens of thousands of hours of listening they know you’ve never once chosen it or any adjacent genre. Shameless promotion: rad is an auto D.J. that actually does follow your preferences https://rad.fm/ https://rad.fm/
- Yizahi 2y ago
  Spotify - 6+4 (from app open to play), YT Music - 10+4. (+4 is the next album test) I don't get either of them push anything out of place to me. In Spotify Home the top 7 blocks on homepage are all relevant to or are what I'm listening. Either mixes of bands I'm listen to, or the bands/albums themselves. After block 7 the spam starts, e.g. "regional top 100" and similar. In YT Music it is even farther, only block 20 on home page is "charts", before it all blocks are relevant.
- notachatbot1234 2y ago
  > Shameless promotion: rad is an auto D.J. that actually does follow your preferences https://rad.fm/ https://rad.fm/ Site tried to detect my location. That's creepy and invasive. Tab closed instantly.
  - pjmq 2y ago
    Rad.FM maker here. Thanks for at least trying it. A) the web app is still in alpha. B) Rad needs your location to make what it says to the listener relevant to where you are and your current time. Also, news & weather need your location. Thanks for the feedback though, I'll delay the location request to later in the flow + add a popover which explains why it's needed when we get to beta.
ageitgey 2y ago
I had been a Spotify subscriber since near when it started. I was annoyed with every change over the years, but I had nearly a decade of playlists that I didn't want to lose. It never felt worth switching because it seemed like a huge effort. Recently, I finally switched to Apple Music after discovering there is absolutely no way to disable video podcasts on child accounts and that because of that, Spotify search is full of TikTok compilations, Minecraft streamers, and straight up adult content that you absolutely can't disable for children. It's really terrible and unforgivable. The good news is (1) I actually like Apple Music a lot more, even on Android and (2) switching took like 5 minutes using Soundiiz. It is a web app where you log into both services and it syncs your playlists and collections instantly. I have no connection to it and there are probably other similar services that might be just as good, but it worked really well for me and was worth the $5 or whatever I payed. I moved everyone in my family over to Apple Music and no one complained or lost any playlists. Since being on Apple Music, it's really refreshing that they prioritize music features over dumb engagement features. They promote lossless audio and spatial audio remixes instead of trying to push paid podcasts and other junk you don't want. It also supports streaming your own local music that is not in their library. It is a really nice product. Obviously both are giant companies who don't care about you, but Apple Music really seems like a better product to me made by people who actually listen to music.
- hereaiham 2y ago
  Be careful, Apple Music will delete you playlists and your whole library if you unsubscribe.
- gorbachev 2y ago
  How did you keep your Spotify playlists useful after all that time? Mine start to rot in less than a year. On all my playlists large percentage of the songs just disappear after a while. Whether that's because songs were removed from Spotify due to licensing agreements expiring, the artist deleting them for some other reason I don't know, but the end result is a really frustrating user experience.
  - ageitgey 2y ago
h00s 2y ago
I also left Spotify. However, my reason wasn't the user interface but the sound quality. Since I bought high-quality studio monitors and an excellent sound card, sound quality has become important. I switched to Tidal and I'm not going back.
sshine 2y ago
tl;dr: Author doesn't like algorithmic recommendations. Also, UI updates are confusing. Summary (thanks, Kagi!): > a recent app update altered its interface, making it harder to navigate Spotify constantly change their interface ever so slightly. I personally often like the changes. I sometimes can't find things. This is a really valid point of criticism, but not something everyone agrees is a bad thing. > app shifts towards promoting playlists and algorithmically generated content over traditional albums OK, this is the real reason. I like the algorithmic recommendations. It helps me discover electronic music which has a high similarity. When algorithmic recommendations are not sufficient, and I have actual time on my hand to explore music, I browse the "Artists like this one..." directory, old-school style. I mostly play "Liked songs" and explore recommendations on adventurous days. > corporate profit over user experience Isn't really an argument. > feel increasingly alienated from their music, with algorithms dictating listening habits If argument does not sound convincing, repeat the argument. > diminishes the significance of entire albums To be more precise, Spotify is changing the reward mechanism to favor singles over albums: https://www.grizzlybeatz.com/lofi-hip-hop-blog/why-releasing-singles-instead-of-albums-on-spotify-can-be-beneficial https://www.grizzlybeatz.com/lofi-hip-hop-blog/why-releasing... I'm not convinced it's just a bad thing. The landscape is changing. People still make albums if they feel like it.
tpetrina 2y ago
I use Deezer - thanks to it I discovered new music that I like. With Spotify if you listened to one Beatles song you got only Beatles recommendations. At least the app is stable and serves the basic purpose of playing music.
mertysn 2y ago
Spotify support forums (community) are a honeypot for complaints. Take a look at how long the 'top ideas' have been ignored to see for yourself. Using the non-shuffling feature titled 'smart shuffle' is the most frustrated I have been using any software in my 30 years of life. If your connection speed is not on big US city level, accidentally toggling shuffle practically halts the application for minutes. Reference: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Mobile-Other-Smart-Shuffle-toggle-setting-in-settings-menu/idi-p/5533279 https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Mobile-Other-Sma... For credibility: there are 142,664 scrobbles saved on my last fm since 2013. I use the service a lot and wish I did not have to resort to modding tools like Spicetify for basic feature toggles. Way to ruin a wonderful product. If there was a 'Spotify but only the music you choose', I'd switch in an instant.
- Xen9 2y ago
  I use Tidal free-trials for few months every time my debit changes. I then rip the FLACs off to 2TB SD-cards with tidal-dl. Even the metadata is high-quality!
dclowd9901 2y ago
I must admit I’m a bit baffled here. I find the listening experience on Spotify to largely conform to what I want to do. If I want to discover new music, I’ll pick a song I like, create a station out of it and dig into songs/artists that populate it. If I want to go into an artist’s catalog, I’ll look up the artist (or visit them in my library after having added them to it) and find and album that I want to listen to. I think the only thing that really bothers me is that you might add a song or an album to your library but for some reason that doesn’t automatically add the artist to your library. I feel like they should all be interlinked. I don’t use the desktop app at all though. Maybe the mobile app just has a better design?
- pennybanks 2y ago
  ya i dont know about desktop app but mobile and website wise it blows away apple, prime, pandora and youtube music like by a long shot.. not to mention the recommendations is also on another level so their curated maxtapes. although i assume that last one has a lot to do with your genre preference but rap/hip hop wise i think its true. the new song discoverability is the only reason i prefer Spotify even though i get prime and apple free from other bundles already. i do like the library and playlist separation tho. youtube and i think apple are like this where if you delete off playlist it deletes off your library as well. its really annoying haha
mostlysimilar 2y ago
For months now Spotify has locked me into algorithmic slop in its discovery features. In the past I had no problem listening to some chill lo-fi while I work and rock or indie or whatever for pleasure. The Discover Weekly playlist would give me a reasonable mix of these. Nowadays my Discover Weekly is nothing but "lo-fi" elevator music, despite my best efforts to dissuade it with the dislike button. Worse, if you click in to any of the artists of these songs they're all mysteriously vacant profiles with no social media connections or descriptions. I absolutely despise Spotify as a company and have felt trapped by them for years so maybe I have an unreasonable bias against them in thinking this, but the thought crossed my mind that they're creating this slop themselves to suck up as many streaming minutes as possible to avoid paying real artists/producers. Of course, it's also possible they're just turning a blind eye to abusers who generate this stuff and flood the platform looking for a quick buck. Mutually beneficial for them I guess.
pushcx 2y ago
The article has all the pieces but doesn't connect that Spotify's incentive is "Discovery Mode": https://newsroom.spotify.com/2020-11-02/amplifying-artist-input-in-your-personalized-recommendations/ https://newsroom.spotify.com/2020-11-02/amplifying-artist-in... > artists and labels can identify music that’s a priority for them... it won’t require any upfront budget. Instead, labels or rights holders agree to be paid a promotional recording royalty rate for streams in personalized listening sessions where we provided this service "Payola" is the term for radio stations secretly charging labels to feature their songs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola "Discovery Mode" is the modern structure. Instead of a station's single broadcast, it's many algorithmic playlists. Instead of the publisher paying up front because the radio and retailer are separate businesses, they just accept a lower royalty rate on plays because Spotify plays are the discovery and the sale together. Perhaps these differences and this press release is enough "disclosure" to avoid prosecution, I'm not a lawyer. I wish Spotify's internal legal analysis was public. But all these gripes come back to: Spotify makes more money from this than when playing albums, curation, personal playlists, etc etc. There isn't a general issue of control or caring, there's a specific, nameable moneymaking "feature".

82 points by yarapavan 2y ago

sensible move. shitification thats spotify. I would like to see a HN inspired web site that lists all of the bands and musicians where we can click on a link and go directly to the band or musicians web site and buy or download the music directly from them. No middle man earning a small fortune off the backs of those talented musicians.

simonjgreen 2y ago
SoundCloud is close to this, and Tidal was intended to be this. Neither quite hit the mark but both are closer than Spotify.
siquick 2y ago
Here you go https://bandcamp.com/ https://bandcamp.com/
tomduncalf 2y ago
Bandcamp is close to this. Unfortunately the website is kind of dated IMO and even core flows like exploring, buying and downloading music feel somewhat painful compared to rivals, and there’s no real recommendation system. I would love to see a Bandcamp streaming service which fairly compensates artists and has a more discovery focussed UI, but they don’t seem that interested in evolving the product for whatever reason (they have had a fairly rough sounding series of acquisitions)
- nsteel 2y ago
  I'd like to see them provide an API and let others sort it out for them.
- crtasm 2y ago
  I know it's not what you're asking for but looking at who bought something I like, finding a few users with interesting looking collections and following them works quite well for recommendations for me. Sometimes I'll search for a specific DJ's user account to follow. There's also the Discover tool at the bottom of their homepage which includes 'artist-recommended', a new and notable section, and they have regular blog posts for various genres. You could also try https://bc-explorer.app/ https://bc-explorer.app/
nine_k 2y ago
Have you looked at bandcamp.com? It's not exactly what you envisioned, but still a very useful tool for independent bands, and for discovery.

jwilber 2y ago

Anecdotally, and without having read this, I unsubscribed and stopped using the app just last week. I think YouTube has better recommendations and selection.

avh02 2y ago

Don't get me wrong, I've started moving away from Spotify, but not entirely for these reasons. Music to me is mostly one big playlist and a few smaller playlists from the same library of my music. And where my music doesn't get randomly yanked because the artist had a fit with Spotify or license issues came up I never understood people's fetishization of albums and "enjoying" an album and all the music app interfaces created around that. I just want a cloud or self hosted version of winamp, where jumping to the next song or queueing it up from my playlist is a hotkey away rather than 12 clicks on a crowded interface. Been moving to navidrome but i expect to eventually need some workarounds to get what i want. Edit: also the poor implementation that is smart shuffle and shoving it down my throat

golergka 2y ago
Depends in the genre and artists, some music fits into separate songs where albums are merely a collection, some is created for an album as the primary artform, with a narrative, themes (in a musical and literary sense) and story. Think about it as an opera. Of course, Nessum Dorma sounds great by itself, but wouldn't it hit different if you hear it in the context of the whole story, with emotional buildup and everything?
kkapelon 2y ago
> I never understood people's fetishization of albums and "enjoying" an album and all the music app interfaces created around that There are concept/themed albums where the songs tell a story and you are supposed to listen them from start to finish. Also several times an album is actually how the artists themselves wanted to release/listen/publish their songs (instead of individual tracks with no relation among them)
gherkinnn 2y ago
> I never understood people's fetishization of albums and "enjoying" an album and all the music app interfaces created around that. Some albums are written to be enjoyed as a whole. A song might set up the next. Listening to an artist album by album gives you an idea of their progression. This might not be for everyone but surely isn't alien.
2y ago

marginalia_nu 2y ago

I quit Spotify a few years ago as well. They kept changing stuff, breaking my work flow, with every change it felt like there was more friction to listen to the music and podcasts I wanted, and less friction to listen to algorithmically selected slop I didn't want to listen to. Eventually I just said fuck it. I don't need this source of stress and frustration in my life. I've never looked back. I'm on youtube music now. In many ways it's a worse product, but it at least stays the same and doesn't keep trying to make me change my listening behavior. I suspect Spotify's problem is that they have (or had) too many developers, so you get this pressure to look busy "improving" the product, with endless lateral change as a result instead.

etrautmann 2y ago
Yes, this is all over the place sadly. It’s so bad that I barely learn an interface since things are moving around constantly in all apps and websites, so I end up figuring things out every time I need them. I don’t even expect a workflow anymore. I just expect to search through shitty counterintuitive interfaces until I sometimes find what I’m looking for.
jarl-ragnar 2y ago
Sounds as much a problem of too many Product Managers all trying to make a mark so they can progress their career. Hence features keep getting added or re-designed.
dnel 2y ago
When I left Spotify I remember it being difficult at first, I went around to various competitors who were all objectively worse. I've been using YT music for a few years now too and while it is not as good by a long shot, it's good enough and I feel more in control of my musical journey. You're right that they don't change much, it almost feels like a forgotten product, which probably doesn't bode well for its future with Google being Google.
cosmotic 2y ago
Engineers don't decide how things are moved or changed, that's product and maybe ux.

wyager 2y ago

I'm looking for a music app (streaming or otherwise) that supports what seems to me like a basic feature, but which seems to be unsupported in anything I've tried. I want the ability to shuffle my library/play the latest releases/whatever while leaving albums intact. I want to play the entirety of one album in order, then play another album in order, and so on. Anyone know of an app that does this? I'll drop spotify today if some other streaming service can do this.

LM358 2y ago
Foobar2000 does this.
12907835202 2y ago
Pretty sure iPod Classic did this. But now I imagine most people don't mind looking at the app every 30-90 minutes to choose a new album. Also just looking at my saved albums in Spotify there's loads of crap in there just because I've downloaded it offline once in the past 10 odd years. A shuffle of these albums would suck. So they'd probably have to fix the saving/favouring of albums before allowing shuffling of them.
conradfr 2y ago
I've wanted a "play a random album" since the Winamp days.
nsteel 2y ago
mpd can support this e.g. https://github.com/axujen/mpdrandom https://github.com/axujen/mpdrandom
sumuyuda 2y ago
If your are on iOS check out Albums, it is built around listening to music in Albums. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/albums-album-focused-player/id1469948986 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/albums-album-focused-player/id...
- wyager 2y ago
  Thanks, will check this out.

ilrwbwrkhv 2y ago

The problem is that Spotify has to pay huge royalties to the studios instead of being able to make a large margin as other tech companies do. So they get squeezed from both ends, on one side the customer who doesn't want to pay more and on the other side the music industry.

golergka 2y ago
Shouldn't scale compensate for that? Any business works in the margin between what suppliers and customers could allow them, record shops too. But traditional businesses couldn't hope to get a significant part of the planet to be their customers.
- mrkeen 2y ago
  Not if their dealer charges them for each stream
avtolik 2y ago
What problems? The articles says "profit margins are hitting new highs, up to thirty per cent."
- ilrwbwrkhv 2y ago
  Well internally I know from folks that it is dire straits and they have their back against the wall with negotiations.

acl777 2y ago

https://archive.ph/LxdY2 https://archive.ph/LxdY2

jlarocco 2y ago

I knew it was going to go down hill when they killed off 3rd party clients.

ein0p 2y ago

I quit them because they raised prices again. I find the app to be excellent, but paying $240/yr for music most of which I already have on CDs is idiotic.

samwillis 2y ago

We (as a family) moved from Spotify to Apple Music, but it was entirely down to cost. As our kids have grown and gained their own devices we've had to find apps/services that we can share with them. The most successful has been Apple One, having Arcade for them, TV and News for us, the storage, and extras like Fitness, it made sense to get Apple One. At that point we had Apple Music for "free" so decided to migrate after over ten years. Genuinely very happy with it! Many of the complaints in the OP apply to Sonos too though, we brought into it years ago, and are incredible disappointed with the recent changes.

croo 2y ago
> decision was entirely down to cost > Whole family uses Apple products I cannot prove it but I feel a contradiction
- lazyasciiart 2y ago
  > At that point we had Apple Music for "free" The cost decision is "given we have purchased x, which service costs more?"
- theshrike79 2y ago
  As an anecdote, my kid is in their pre-teens. They're on their second iPad - got the first one at around age 1-2. I think that's a pretty nice TCO right there.
  - nsteel 2y ago
    > got the first one at around age 1-2. That's brave. I've never owned an iPad, are they are they a lot more resilient to being dropped than I think? My 2yo drops what they're playing with about 4 times per minute. I've settled for a yoto player which I don't let them pick up!
    - theshrike79 2y ago
      They've been pretty well coordinated, never dropped tablets and zero broken phones. Meanwhile I see kids at similar ages going around with phones that have screens that are just a complete mush of broken glass. Dunno why.

rumori 2y ago

I moved my family plan from Spotify because they still don’t have an easy to use music locker solution. As an amateur producer I love to have my unreleased music always available. I was already a premium Youtube subscriber to get rid of ads and Youtube music was included. While the UI is not great I can appreciate that it can play and download music from Youtube as well that is not otherwise available on any of the other streaming services. The way Spotify treats third party developers (including myself) with all the unfixed issues being broken for years was just the last nail in the coffin.

agubelu 2y ago

Sort of related: "Why Spotify's "grand strategy" will fail" https://youtu.be/yDWgOwb8kj4 https://youtu.be/yDWgOwb8kj4

8bitsrule 2y ago

>Of course, there aren’t many alternatives for a comprehensive music-streaming service. These days there are 10s of 1000s of radio stations with a web presence. From all over the world. Some have live DJs, some use automation, some have special syndicated programs. Over the years I've tried out many hundreds of them for an hour or two. Some are great! Many have multiple programs each day at regular times. It's a whole 'nother world. Some are college stations, some are long-time businesses like SOMA-FM. I use VLC to listen to them (go to the 'Media' heading, select 'Open Media stream' and paste the URL ... instant play) , and to make a playlist to group stuff by genre or source-type. Audio-quality-wise, if that's a concern, their bit-rates can vary from 50k to 320k. VLC can tell you that. Not a problem; if I don't like what I'm hearing today, I have lots of lossless favorites from my collection on a drive. SOMA-FM has a great selection of genres you can try for starters. Or take a walk on the wild side by searching here [0], a site where all station info has been entered by users... including many that might be in your own neighborhood. Copy the URL and plug it into VLC. [0] https://www.radio-browser.info/#!/ https://www.radio-browser.info/#!/

rckt 2y ago

Interesting how the reasoning is on the UI/algo side when it should be about how artists are treated. I "quit" Spotify or any other streaming service without even subscribing to them.

lazyasciiart 2y ago
That's not quitting, that's boycotting perhaps?
- rckt 2y ago
  Hm, if my personal decision to not use streaming services can be perceived as boycott, then ok. But looks like too big of a word in this case :)

beardyw 2y ago

This is the 5th time this story has been posted in 12 days.

deleted 2y ago
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vesche 2y ago

I also quit Spotify about 6 months ago and went back to Pandora. I’ve been super happy with that decision. Spotify kept me in a weird bubble of sorts always playing the same songs and artists. When I went back to Pandora I rediscovered that their music recommendation engine is amazing! I’m now listening to more new artists than ever and have found way more new music.

jftuga 2y ago
I also think Pandora has spot on music recommendations.

minkles 2y ago

Perhaps I’m old but I never got into this at all. I have a very carefully curated collection of music which is combination of CD rips, stuff from bandcamp and bootlegs and piracy. I can’t possibly replicate this with any online music service.

dclowd9901 2y ago
What do you do for discovery?
- minkles 2y ago
  last.fm / gigs / bandcamp. Oh also Meetup music events and I actually play a couple of instruments so get talking to people.

sydbarrett74 2y ago

I too am sick of Spotify. They make it harder and harder for me to access my own library and keep shoving 'recommendations' down my throat. If I want recommendations, I'll ask various meat-suit friends and family members whose musical tastes I respect. Does anyone here have experience with Tidal? I have heard good things about them.

batiudrami 2y ago
I found Apple Music is a big improvement over Spotify. The artist and browse pages are still full of algorithmic playlists unfortunately, but on your “Library” tab it functions just like an iPod with only music you’ve added to your library. The biggest issue I have library-wise is with bad release year metadata often being incorrect for rereleases and remasters, and deluxe versions being the default. Irritating but small quarrels in the big scheme of things.

deng 2y ago

PSA for people with kids: Parental controls and QA in Spotify are a bad joke. I found out the hard way that Spotify features tons of videos and that you cannot disable them. See for instance https://open.spotify.com/episode/5KS759AlVGVj34OHPbcx1p https://open.spotify.com/episode/5KS759AlVGVj34OHPbcx1p There's also ton of dubious stuff in the "ASMR" category you probably wouldn't want your kid have access to and that is not caught by the "Explicit" filter, see for instance (NSFW!) https://open.spotify.com/artist/3AxgfSNuDgYnz54lT4jkmT https://open.spotify.com/artist/3AxgfSNuDgYnz54lT4jkmT Needless to say, I immediately canceled the Spotify family account.

theshrike79 2y ago
Holy crap, that's straight up porn - no ASMR there. This is the same crap that used to be on those expensive phone services where you'd call and get charged insane amounts for.
- nunez 2y ago
  Also not ASMR in the slightest.
ageitgey 2y ago
This is the reason we cancelled Spotify and moved to Apple Music. Not only do they have a bunch of adult content hidden in there, but they also have tons of "video podcasts" available via search that are compilations of TikTok and streamer trash (like the one you linked). So if you are trying to keep young kids away from TikTok, trash-level Minecraft streamers, etc, but assume Spotify is safe because it is just music, your kids will find it and start getting hooked on TikTok via Spotify. It's really terrible and insidious. It feels like the tech industry is conspiring to get small children hooked. There is a thread several years old on Spotify support where people have been complaining about this and they have done nothing. They are prioritizing engagement via crappy podcasts over delivering a music product that works for a range of customers (families, etc). BTW, Apple Music has been totally fine as a replacement. I actually like it more. And there is a web app that will move all your old playlists over in minutes, so there's very little hassle in switching.

cokeandpepsi 2y ago

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adamhorne 2y ago

I totally recommend Radio FIP (France Inter Paris) for anyone a little frustrated with Spotify. I listen to this for hours each day. I love every one of those hours. Unlike Spotify, expert DJs select a wide range of music from genres that span the globe. Throughout the day, FIP curates an eclectic mix of genres—from jazz to rock, world music to classical—ensuring that I'm constantly exposed to various musical worlds without needing to curate or chase playlists myself. FIP's programming is uninterrupted by DJs or ads, allowing for a seamless, immersive listening experience. The station's French commentary, when it occurs, adds a touch of charm without becoming a distraction, making it easy to "set it and forget it." Do yourself a favour...

bags43 2y ago
I can not find a lot music in the app despite my solid french.
- DavideNL 2y ago
  - "FIP Radio removed from TuneIn" - "...We have removed all France Radio stations from TuneIn as per broadcaster request. We're sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding..." : https://old.reddit.com/r/tunein/comments/1buoei7/fip_radio_removed_from_tunein/ https://old.reddit.com/r/tunein/comments/1buoei7/fip_radio_r... Streams: https://gist.github.com/harperreed/b5ceabbbbca0a79d478ec0b81f449892 https://gist.github.com/harperreed/b5ceabbbbca0a79d478ec0b81...
  - bags43 2y ago
    Thanks.
curated4ever 2y ago
Very much appreciate the suggestion. Thank you. I love these curated streams. Really good to have in the background. One I found a long time ago is Radio Paradise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Paradise https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Paradise Edit: Love these wide curated music. I think what makes me love FIP and RP is it puts you into a good/mellow/calm mood.

Maakuth 2y ago

With Spotify subcription hikes, one could buy a lot of music. Does a decent MP3 or FLAC store exists nowadays? For some specific albums it's nice to have the physical object of a CD, but in general I'd rather not buy the plastic discs just to rip and store indefinitely.

crtasm 2y ago
Yes, try Bandcamp, Junodownload, Bleep, Qobuz. I'm sure there's many more.

leokennis 2y ago

In 10 (5? 25?) years I'd be very interested to read an "insider story" book about Spotify, similar in scope as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Plex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Plex or something. Spotify used to be cool and within the industry, the big example of engineering culture, agile with "the Spotify model" with squads and tribes etc. being able to adapt and ship stuff quickly. But now somehow it seems they regressed into an organization that cannot ship basic features (stuff like lossless audio) for years, and that is more interested in pursuing legal action than in pursuing customers. Reading a book about why would be a good lesson for many people in IT.

dclowd9901 2y ago
I think there’s a wider issue plaguing the tech industry right now, and it’s not relegated to any one company. It seems this newest generation of product managers and owners has absolutely no clue how to research, develop and build upon features. It’s the only explanation I have and it’s something I’ve observed in every company I’ve been in. The roles are typically filled with very young people with absolutely no background to support it. What I generally see is they are reactive largely to the whims of leadership, they don’t understand their users, they don’t do any research or testing, they don’t aim for ambitious new ideas (more often aping what other companies do), so we’ve ended up in this milieu of product experiences that feel weirdly homogenous and ultimately very unfitting with what the product should be. I’m just a guy but I hope someone with a louder, more important megaphone writes up something soon on this because the industry needs to shine a spotlight on these folks.

tetrisgm 2y ago

Those of us who aren't deterred by self-hosting, I highly recommend using Roon. It allows you to use your own MP3s/FLACs/Wav, use Tidal/Qobyz for HQ streaming of things you don't have, and the best recommendation engine I've seen in music.

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cutiepie99 2y ago

The whole article is just someone's opinion about how much they don't like spotify that they had to share it with the world. Obviously use what works for you. Use spotify if you like it, use youtube music if you like it, use radio channels if you like them, use any podcast app if you like it, like no one cares about how much you hate a specific app, stop using it and move on :D

misstuned 2y ago

I just started using and paying for Spotify, having been a diehard radio listener all my life (and, in a previous period of my career, worked in the sector). It was more of a reaction against radio rather than being in favour of Spotify, though. I was tired of my listening being characterised by inane commercials, constant depressing negative news, DJs telling us that it's some stranger's birthday, long interviews with some jerk I've never heard of, endless dreadful tracks that I wouldn't choose to listen to. It got to the point where I couldn't figure out why on earth anyone would listen to radio when you can get all the music you like, with no ads, no news, and no Dave Doubledecks, for a few pounds a month. After a couple of weeks of using it, it started recommending music I'd never heard before, and really cool Scottish and Welsh folk music that the radio stations here would never touch, so I've discovered really cool stuff through it. I love that I can tell it never to show me certain artists - for instance, if I never heard Eminem again in my life it'd be too soon, so I've told it to never recommend any tracks by him, whereas local radio plays him incessantly.

theshrike79 2y ago

My reasoning for leaving Spotify was this: - Spotify pays fractions of pennies per play to the artist ($0.00318) - Apple Music pays about three times more ($0.008) - Tidal pays more than Apple Music ($0.01284) I picked Apple because I've got it anyway through Apple One, if I wasn't in The Ecosystem, I'd switch to Tidal since it integrates with PlexAmp directly. https://virpp.com/hello/music-streaming-payouts-comparison-a-guide-for-musicians/ https://virpp.com/hello/music-streaming-payouts-comparison-a...

TiredOfLife 2y ago
Your first point contradicts your second. You switched because it was cheaper.
- theshrike79 2y ago
  Win-win for me. I pay less per month for music for the whole family AND the artist make more for each play.

aliwoto 2y ago

My main reason for quitting spotify: "Your password has been reset"

kristianp 2y ago

Spotify, where's the Foo Fighter's cover of "Down in the Park" from the X-Files soundtrack?!

pcardoso 2y ago

I’m quitting Spotify because of some idiotic family plan policies. We missed an email about address verification, despite we living in the same place for many years and being a paid user for 15 years, and now my wife can’t rejoin the plan for a year. Moving to Tidal, and perhaps starting buying CDs again.

anotherhue 2y ago

Here’s an experiment you can do across any music service, count how many clicks/taps/interactions to go from a cold start to dark side of the moon. Now play their next album that you can’t remember the name of. For bonus fun count how many times it tries to interrupt you and have you listen to something cheaper, their in house podcasts or whatever the latest rap album they’re pushing is, despite that after tens of thousands of hours of listening they know you’ve never once chosen it or any adjacent genre. Shameless promotion: rad is an auto D.J. that actually does follow your preferences https://rad.fm/ https://rad.fm/

Yizahi 2y ago
Spotify - 6+4 (from app open to play), YT Music - 10+4. (+4 is the next album test) I don't get either of them push anything out of place to me. In Spotify Home the top 7 blocks on homepage are all relevant to or are what I'm listening. Either mixes of bands I'm listen to, or the bands/albums themselves. After block 7 the spam starts, e.g. "regional top 100" and similar. In YT Music it is even farther, only block 20 on home page is "charts", before it all blocks are relevant.
notachatbot1234 2y ago
> Shameless promotion: rad is an auto D.J. that actually does follow your preferences https://rad.fm/ https://rad.fm/ Site tried to detect my location. That's creepy and invasive. Tab closed instantly.
- pjmq 2y ago
  Rad.FM maker here. Thanks for at least trying it. A) the web app is still in alpha. B) Rad needs your location to make what it says to the listener relevant to where you are and your current time. Also, news & weather need your location. Thanks for the feedback though, I'll delay the location request to later in the flow + add a popover which explains why it's needed when we get to beta.

ageitgey 2y ago

I had been a Spotify subscriber since near when it started. I was annoyed with every change over the years, but I had nearly a decade of playlists that I didn't want to lose. It never felt worth switching because it seemed like a huge effort. Recently, I finally switched to Apple Music after discovering there is absolutely no way to disable video podcasts on child accounts and that because of that, Spotify search is full of TikTok compilations, Minecraft streamers, and straight up adult content that you absolutely can't disable for children. It's really terrible and unforgivable. The good news is (1) I actually like Apple Music a lot more, even on Android and (2) switching took like 5 minutes using Soundiiz. It is a web app where you log into both services and it syncs your playlists and collections instantly. I have no connection to it and there are probably other similar services that might be just as good, but it worked really well for me and was worth the $5 or whatever I payed. I moved everyone in my family over to Apple Music and no one complained or lost any playlists. Since being on Apple Music, it's really refreshing that they prioritize music features over dumb engagement features. They promote lossless audio and spatial audio remixes instead of trying to push paid podcasts and other junk you don't want. It also supports streaming your own local music that is not in their library. It is a really nice product. Obviously both are giant companies who don't care about you, but Apple Music really seems like a better product to me made by people who actually listen to music.

hereaiham 2y ago
Be careful, Apple Music will delete you playlists and your whole library if you unsubscribe.
gorbachev 2y ago
How did you keep your Spotify playlists useful after all that time? Mine start to rot in less than a year. On all my playlists large percentage of the songs just disappear after a while. Whether that's because songs were removed from Spotify due to licensing agreements expiring, the artist deleting them for some other reason I don't know, but the end result is a really frustrating user experience.
- ageitgey 2y ago

h00s 2y ago

I also left Spotify. However, my reason wasn't the user interface but the sound quality. Since I bought high-quality studio monitors and an excellent sound card, sound quality has become important. I switched to Tidal and I'm not going back.

sshine 2y ago

tl;dr: Author doesn't like algorithmic recommendations. Also, UI updates are confusing. Summary (thanks, Kagi!): > a recent app update altered its interface, making it harder to navigate Spotify constantly change their interface ever so slightly. I personally often like the changes. I sometimes can't find things. This is a really valid point of criticism, but not something everyone agrees is a bad thing. > app shifts towards promoting playlists and algorithmically generated content over traditional albums OK, this is the real reason. I like the algorithmic recommendations. It helps me discover electronic music which has a high similarity. When algorithmic recommendations are not sufficient, and I have actual time on my hand to explore music, I browse the "Artists like this one..." directory, old-school style. I mostly play "Liked songs" and explore recommendations on adventurous days. > corporate profit over user experience Isn't really an argument. > feel increasingly alienated from their music, with algorithms dictating listening habits If argument does not sound convincing, repeat the argument. > diminishes the significance of entire albums To be more precise, Spotify is changing the reward mechanism to favor singles over albums: https://www.grizzlybeatz.com/lofi-hip-hop-blog/why-releasing-singles-instead-of-albums-on-spotify-can-be-beneficial https://www.grizzlybeatz.com/lofi-hip-hop-blog/why-releasing... I'm not convinced it's just a bad thing. The landscape is changing. People still make albums if they feel like it.

tpetrina 2y ago

I use Deezer - thanks to it I discovered new music that I like. With Spotify if you listened to one Beatles song you got only Beatles recommendations. At least the app is stable and serves the basic purpose of playing music.

mertysn 2y ago

Spotify support forums (community) are a honeypot for complaints. Take a look at how long the 'top ideas' have been ignored to see for yourself. Using the non-shuffling feature titled 'smart shuffle' is the most frustrated I have been using any software in my 30 years of life. If your connection speed is not on big US city level, accidentally toggling shuffle practically halts the application for minutes. Reference: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Mobile-Other-Smart-Shuffle-toggle-setting-in-settings-menu/idi-p/5533279 https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Mobile-Other-Sma... For credibility: there are 142,664 scrobbles saved on my last fm since 2013. I use the service a lot and wish I did not have to resort to modding tools like Spicetify for basic feature toggles. Way to ruin a wonderful product. If there was a 'Spotify but only the music you choose', I'd switch in an instant.

Xen9 2y ago
I use Tidal free-trials for few months every time my debit changes. I then rip the FLACs off to 2TB SD-cards with tidal-dl. Even the metadata is high-quality!

dclowd9901 2y ago

I must admit I’m a bit baffled here. I find the listening experience on Spotify to largely conform to what I want to do. If I want to discover new music, I’ll pick a song I like, create a station out of it and dig into songs/artists that populate it. If I want to go into an artist’s catalog, I’ll look up the artist (or visit them in my library after having added them to it) and find and album that I want to listen to. I think the only thing that really bothers me is that you might add a song or an album to your library but for some reason that doesn’t automatically add the artist to your library. I feel like they should all be interlinked. I don’t use the desktop app at all though. Maybe the mobile app just has a better design?

pennybanks 2y ago
ya i dont know about desktop app but mobile and website wise it blows away apple, prime, pandora and youtube music like by a long shot.. not to mention the recommendations is also on another level so their curated maxtapes. although i assume that last one has a lot to do with your genre preference but rap/hip hop wise i think its true. the new song discoverability is the only reason i prefer Spotify even though i get prime and apple free from other bundles already. i do like the library and playlist separation tho. youtube and i think apple are like this where if you delete off playlist it deletes off your library as well. its really annoying haha

mostlysimilar 2y ago

For months now Spotify has locked me into algorithmic slop in its discovery features. In the past I had no problem listening to some chill lo-fi while I work and rock or indie or whatever for pleasure. The Discover Weekly playlist would give me a reasonable mix of these. Nowadays my Discover Weekly is nothing but "lo-fi" elevator music, despite my best efforts to dissuade it with the dislike button. Worse, if you click in to any of the artists of these songs they're all mysteriously vacant profiles with no social media connections or descriptions. I absolutely despise Spotify as a company and have felt trapped by them for years so maybe I have an unreasonable bias against them in thinking this, but the thought crossed my mind that they're creating this slop themselves to suck up as many streaming minutes as possible to avoid paying real artists/producers. Of course, it's also possible they're just turning a blind eye to abusers who generate this stuff and flood the platform looking for a quick buck. Mutually beneficial for them I guess.

pushcx 2y ago

The article has all the pieces but doesn't connect that Spotify's incentive is "Discovery Mode": https://newsroom.spotify.com/2020-11-02/amplifying-artist-input-in-your-personalized-recommendations/ https://newsroom.spotify.com/2020-11-02/amplifying-artist-in... > artists and labels can identify music that’s a priority for them... it won’t require any upfront budget. Instead, labels or rights holders agree to be paid a promotional recording royalty rate for streams in personalized listening sessions where we provided this service "Payola" is the term for radio stations secretly charging labels to feature their songs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola "Discovery Mode" is the modern structure. Instead of a station's single broadcast, it's many algorithmic playlists. Instead of the publisher paying up front because the radio and retailer are separate businesses, they just accept a lower royalty rate on plays because Spotify plays are the discovery and the sale together. Perhaps these differences and this press release is enough "disclosure" to avoid prosecution, I'm not a lawyer. I wish Spotify's internal legal analysis was public. But all these gripes come back to: Spotify makes more money from this than when playing albums, curation, personal playlists, etc etc. There isn't a general issue of control or caring, there's a specific, nameable moneymaking "feature".