2 Comments
User's avatar
Kevin Alexander's avatar

Late in saying this, but wanted to tell you that I think the way you framed this is spot on; certainly much more eloquently than I could’ve!

Even just looking at it through a financial lens, Spotify keeps raising its prices w/no uptick in quality. They’ve locked everyone in and are now weaponizing that to make people pay more and more for less and less.

As someone that makes a lot of playlists, it’s tough—I want to meet readers where they’re at— but the company keeps making leaving more appealing.

Expand full comment
Ryan Bird's avatar

Hey Kevin, thank you for your comment! I did cut a few tangential points I couldn’t make flow properly, but I do think I touched all the big ones, especially on the consumer side.

Some of the recent news from Spotify—the upgrade in audio quality and Ek leaving the company soon—reinforces your point: they could improve the quality of the product they offer, but they intentionally choose not to. And now it doesn’t take a forensic account or muckraking journalist to figure out where your money is going, and it sure isn’t to the artists you listen to!

I’m sure your calculus as a playlist-maker for others is a bit different than mine as a private consumer, but for what it’s worth the transfer tool worked smoothly for me—a few minor issues, as noted, nothing dealbreaking. And if it’s not already a deductible business expense for you, you should be able to get a 1- or even 3-month free premium subscription to Apple Music. I imagine such a move would be easier than logging your full collection in Discogs.

Expand full comment