Spotify is the most popular music streaming service in the world. Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Google Play Music:Which is the best? Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Google Play Music:Which is the best? While there are a plethora of music streaming services out there, there are three main ones that stand out above the rest:Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music. But which one is better? Read More With a catalog of 30 million songs, it offers just about every track you could ever want to hear (unless you're a Taylor Swift fan!).
Surely it's worth a few dollars a month to get access to all that content? After all, it's a thousand times better than listening to music on YouTube How to Listen to Full Music Albums on YouTube for Free How to Listen to Full Music Albums on YouTube for Free Do you want to listen to full music albums for free? YouTube can do that. Read More
This is true, but if you dig a little deeper, there are some strong arguments for giving the streaming music service a wide berth.
In this article, we are going to highlight some of the negative aspects of using Spotify. Some of you will agree with these points, while others will vehemently disagree. Either way, we invite you to let us know what you think in the comments at the bottom of the article.
You do not own any of the music you listen to on Spotify. All those carefully crafted playlists, albums you discovered through a friend's recommendation, and new songs from the Billboard 100, none of them are yours. They have simply given you a license to use it.
Spotify is by no means the only company to which this situation applies. Other subscription-based services, like Netflix, Hulu, and Apple Music, operate an identical model.
I am aware that many of you will be shrugging your shoulders:why does ownership matter? The End of Ownership:Netflix, Spotify, and The Streaming Generation. The End of Ownership:Netflix, Spotify, and The Streaming Generation. convenient, but you're giving up something important:ownership of digital media. Read More Many of us (me included) were raised in an era where every conceivable CD, movie, TV show, or book could be found, pirated, and consumed in a matter of minutes.
Aside from the fact that hundreds of CDs or vinyl records on a shelf look really nice, there's still one important thing to consider:
It is unavoidable. Spotify's most recent financial results showed revenue rose to more than €2bn, but it still made a net loss of €173m. In fact, it has never turned a profit since it was publicly launched in 2008. That is clearly not sustainable in the long run.
Spotify's relationship with the music industry, and specifically record labels, is closely tied to those losses. You don't have any of the songs on the platform, but neither does Spotify. As a result, 1.63 billion euros were paid in royalties and distribution expenses in 2015. The more users you have, the more that number increases. And because he owns nothing, the music industry can unplug at will.
Worst part? You don't hope to remember and remember all your saved tracks and playlists to start over on a new platform.
Spotify could ease this concern by offering a way to download text files of your playlists that could then be easily imported into other services, but it doesn't. The company's reasoning is obvious:It doesn't want to make shipping easy for one of its competitors. However, from a consumer point of view, this is a disaster.
Going one step further, what happens when Spotify raises its prices to the point that it can no longer justify paying? The relationship we have with music is fundamentally different from the relationship we have with television and movies.
With the exception of a few classics, we'll look at the visual content once and move on. If Netflix raises its prices too much for your liking, you can cancel your subscription and get it fixed elsewhere, nothing is really lost.
With music, we're more likely to listen to our favorite tracks and playlists over and over until our ears bleed. We have a much more personal relationship with him. If Spotify becomes too expensive and you have to cancel your subscription, that security deposit is forfeited.
It's the perfect bait and switch. How much would you pay not to lose your music? How much is that connection worth to you? $20 per month? $30? $40?
Ultimately, once you buy into the Spotify ecosystem, you'll be hooked. You'll spend years making playlists, discovering new artists, and refining your music collection, but it's an illusion, a house of cards. Because you could wake up one morning and find that everything is gone..
Longtime users of the service will be well aware of Spotify's love of removing awesome features How to Restore the Best Features Spotify Has Removed How to Restore the Best Features Spotify Has Removed Spotify may be the best music streaming service available, but It has shed some features in recent years. Find out how to bring back the best lost features of Spotify forever. Read more . This practice is really annoying, and service could get a little worse each time as a result of these changes.
Although Spotify keeps making changes that we do not appreciate, the company avoids fixing the bugs, errors, and glitches in Spotify. Spotify not working? How to fix 8 common Spotify issues Spotify not working? How to Fix 8 Common Spotify Problems Like every other service known to man, Spotify is prone to problems that affect millions of users. We have identified the most common problems and found solutions for all of them. No problem. Read more . Some of these are so severe that they can make your entire library inaccessible without warning.
At the extreme end of the scale is a complete service outage. They are more common than you think:there have only been two in the last few months.
But what about other simple usability issues? For example, you can only sync 3,333 songs for offline listening. Why? Yes, it's a lot of music, but it seems like a totally unnecessary restriction..
Similarly, there is a total limit of 10,000 songs - you cannot add more than that number of songs to your library. If you're a power user or someone who likes to regularly discover and save new albums, you'll be hitting that barrier sooner than you think.
Perhaps worst of all, you can only download songs for offline use on three devices. This means that if you have a laptop, a smartphone and a tablet, you have reached your limit. And any other devices will have to be without music when you are away from an internet connection. A quick search of the forums reveals countless users who have had their music accidentally deleted by Spotify because the app incorrectly thought it had been downloaded to more than three devices.
What if you don't connect once every 30 days? Poof, your offline music collection is automatically deleted. This is hugely frustrating if you make an innocent mistake like leaving your device in offline mode. Oh, what if you want to charge up a device for a trek through the Andes or island hopping through Southeast Asia? Forget it.
Simply put, Spotify holds all the cards, so you're forced to tailor your listening preferences to fit the company's wacky terms and conditions, or you're on your own.
Yes, Spotify offers more and more ways to find more content; features like Discover Weekly, Daily Mix Spotify offers a daily mix of your favorite music. Spotify offers a daily mix of your favorite music, thanks to the success of Discover Weekly. Read More But secretly, compensation is at stake.
Record labels are no longer impressed with Spotify. At the very least, they want you to be using the service to listen to Bieber, Madonna or Coldplay, the big headliners. Their worst nightmare is for you to discover them. “Davey P and the Entertainers” – The local hip new rock band distributing their music on a new record label..
Spotify knows this, and for all its “innovative” new offerings How to Discover New Music with Spotify:7 Key Tips and Tricks to Know How to Discover New Music with Spotify:7 Key Tips and Tricks to Know The Main Reason I Love Spotify is that it has helped me find so much new music over the years. Here are the built-in features of Spotify that I used to discover amazing music. Read More
Understanding this situation goes a long way to explaining why he has been so eager to permanently remove so many great social features, despite public outcry.
Try going back to the way music discovery used to be:Visit an independent record store, talk to the owner, have a cup of coffee with other shoppers, and learn more about the genres 20 Obscure Music Genres You Should Hear on Spotify 20 Obscure Music Genres You Should Be Listening To On Spotify Join us as we navigate through some of Spotify's weirdest and most wonderful music genres. There is a chance that you have not heard of any of them before. Read More You may be surprised at the hidden gems you discover.
Have we convinced you to turn off the Spotify switch for good? If not, we hope we've at least opened your eyes to some of the negative things about the service.
Despite my personal protests, I still firmly believe that Spotify has great potential. In fact, I subscribe myself, but more importantly, I have evaluated the offer thoroughly so that I realize what I have given myself. And we recommend that you do the same.
At the very least, if you've subscribed to Spotify with the attitude of, "It's my music, it will always be my music, and I can do whatever I want with it!", you could be in for a big shock down the line.
Do you agree with this article? Does the question of ownership affect your feelings about Spotify? Or do you still think that Spotify is the best thing since the bread broke despite its drawbacks? Please let us know what you think in the comments below!
