Has anyone left Spotify for another streaming app?

[LTZ]

I just left Spotify as I don’t agree with the owners’ politics and their way of paying artists. Does anyone have advice on what’s the best alternative? I’ve been looking at Quobuz as even Deezer is now part of a russian-american fund.

 

[OutSynk]

I've thought about it (especially after another recent price hike) but they're probably all rotten anyway and unless you're a basic casual listener there is sadly no decent replacement for Spotify.

 

[ZenGiraffe]

I've tried, but Spotify works the best when you have multiple devices and smart speakers, to the point I can't stick with any of the alternatives.

 

[Ellie]

Never really used Spotify to begin with. I barely listen to much music, but when ever I’ve logged in to the free version, it doesn’t have half of what I’m looking for anyway. YouTube Premium however does have most things.

 

[Rita]

I just left Spotify as I don’t agree with the owners’ politics and their way of paying artists. Does anyone have advice on what’s the best alternative? I’ve been looking at Quobuz as even Deezer is now part of a russian-american fund.

What way do they pay artists? Do you mean because they pay them so little?

 

[Halli]

What happened to TIDAL?

 

[LTZ]

What way do they pay artists? Do you mean because they pay them so little?

yes, and the owner invests heavily in AI driven defence technology ( used by Ice etc )

 

[LTZ]

There’s also this.. I realized that when listening to their playlists there was more and more weird music that sounded fake, now I know why

 

[LTZ]

Update:
I just migrated all my playlists to Qobuz, it was done in 10 mins. It costs the same and the quality is much better, as is the payout to artists

 

[Rita]

yes, and the owner invests heavily in AI driven defence technology ( used by Ice etc )

Yesterday I read that Britney and Will I Am’s Scream and Shout made a billion streams. If Tulisa gets 10 percent of the royalties for that song, and the song earned 0.005 pence per stream then she would have made around £500k just from Spotify? Or is one billion streams from all platforms?

 

[straightorbroken]

I love having no morals. Spotify it is then.

Although nothing worse than seeing an obscure 90s dance classic that didn't chart in the UK appear in grey.

 

[K.C.]

How do you even pull off the switch without having to rebuild your library from scratch? I've still never found a reliable app to transfer my current Apple Music library to another service.

 

[Eddie]

What happened to TIDAL?

Can someone answer Halli please.

 

[lolly]

Yesterday I read that Britney and Will I Am’s Scream and Shout made a billion streams. If Tulisa gets 10 percent of the royalties for that song, and the song earned 0.005 pence per stream then she would have made around £500k just from Spotify? Or is one billion streams from all platforms?

Assuming the rest of the data is correct, wouldn't that be 500,000p (i.e. £5,000), rather than £500k?

My head hurts

 

[LTZ]

How do you even pull off the switch without having to rebuild your library from scratch? I've still never found a reliable app to transfer my current Apple Music library to another service.

I transferred everything before cancelling my subscription, it was super easy. Qobuz proposes straight away, it’s via another app called Soundiiz.

 

[disneyteletubby]

I still have Spotify, was using it yesterday but the annoying thing was that it was playing completely different songs. Not so much with Enya playlists, it thankfully stuck to hers, but I was trying to play Believe (Cher) and it kept 'redirecting' to I've Had The Time of My Life (anything but. )

Since I don't exactly rely on playlists and wouldn't care if mine disappeared tomorrow, I just listen to more downloaded mp3s and flacs from the CDs (and listen to/buy old CDs and music cassettes).

 

[Rita]

Assuming the rest of the data is correct, wouldn't that be 500,000p (i.e. £5,000), rather than £500k?

My head hurts

You could well be right. Can any Moopy mathematicians confirm?

 

[dmlaw]

You could well be right. Can any Moopy mathematicians confirm?

I think the £500,000 figure is right. I had assumed that Spotify artist royalties wee around £0.005, or about half a penny per stream, rather than 0.005p, which is much lower than that.

1,000,000,000 x £0.005 = £5,000,000 so £500,000 if you own 10% of the song.

 

[disneyteletubby]

Not a mathematician haha, but I think it would be 1,000,000,000 × 0.005 /10 is 500,000
then /10 so yes, £5000 (if that 0.005p thing is right )

 

[LTZ]

I still have Spotify, was using it yesterday but the annoying thing was that it was playing completely different songs. Not so much with Enya playlists, it thankfully stuck to hers, but I was trying to play Believe (Cher) and it kept 'redirecting' to I've Had The Time of My Life (anything but. )

Since I don't exactly rely on playlists and wouldn't care if mine disappeared tomorrow, I just listen to more downloaded mp3s and flacs from the CDs (and listen to/buy old CDs and music cassettes).

It does that with me, once the playlist is done it veers into Ai sludge. It’s also in my weekly recommended playlist now, and I just find it super annoying.

 

[Agneeta]

My Spotify algorithm became too precise. I'm glad they've got options to de-personalise a song radio.

I am a playlist addict. I have a number I think most people would avoid me if they found out.

 

[lolly]

I think the £500,000 figure is right. I had assumed that Spotify artist royalties wee around £0.005, or about half a penny per stream, rather than 0.005p, which is much lower than that.

1,000,000,000 x £0.005 = £5,000,000 so £500,000 if you own 10% of the song.

Hang on, I'm more confused now.

So you're saying my maths is right, and Rita's total was right, but her initial figure was wrong?

 

[Jark]

Update:
I just migrated all my playlists to Qobuz, it was done in 10 mins. It costs the same and the quality is much better, as is the payout to artists

I just switched to Qobuz this weekend. sound quality is great. there is last.fm integration if that's important to you, and playlist transfer was so easy. the app also just looks and feels nicer than alternatives I think. I have found any absent features yet to make me feel like I'm missing spotify.

they don't have PODCASTS so I've had to download a podcast app for that but it's no biggie. and as far as I know Qobuz isn't forcing AI SHIT into their playlists which was a big reason I wanted to switch.

 

[Agneeta]

I've never had a massive issue with Spotify. I just had a squizz at Quobuz on my app store. It doesn't look especially different.

 

[Agneeta]

How obnoxious that Pink Floyd played Pompeii.

 

[funky]

While I don’t agree with the Spotify senior management ethical choices, the argument that they don’t pay artists enough is way more complicated than it just being too low. I wonder why we suddenly, in the digital age, stopped blaming record labels and put all the blame on the platforms? I don’t recall HMV or Woolies getting any flack for their revenues not going to artists.

Spotify aren’t only paying artists. There’s a huge difference between what independent artists get per stream and what artists on labels get per stream. Which is why so many artists are drawn into a buy out or retainer revenue where they see very little of the streaming royalties. If they get famous enough and can guarantee strong streams then the can leave the label and claim the royalties themselves, but they’re having to then pay for their own legal fees, distribution costs for any physical shipments, and marketing - including music videos.

It’s a very messy business. Maybe there’s a world where Spotify can increase artists royalties, but with label contracts it still wouldn’t get to them.

 

[K.C.]

Aren't music streaming services basically just new m/billionaires that the old m/billionaires (artists, record labels, retailers etc) now have to share the cut with?

 

[Joseph]

Artists rarely make anything off the music which is why I laugh when people complain they don’t do proper album cycles anymore.

The money is all in touring, merch and shit they advertise/sell like perfumes and the like. I mean the record deals were awful back in the day and I can’t imagine they are any better now unless you are an already established property.

 

[funky]

It’s not true though! My cousin made 300k and counting from ONE SONG on Spotify, because he released it independently. The labels have been chasing him ever since - most of whom aren’t doing so because they value his potential as an artist, the want to tie him into a lifetime streaming deal where the pay for his studio time and marketing, and they get the royalties. It’s happening everywhere. Labels have manipulated what was meant to be a new, open source opportunity for musicians. Now, could Spotify do more to protect and encourage artists to release music on their own and make their own money? Possibly. But we’re talking about millions of songs and they already have the issue of monitoring AI when it comes to independent music.

 

[Dark Carnival]

Waiting for funky to submit his cousin in ASFM!

 

[Jark]

it's not just about the royalties being paid. Spotify is flooding their service with AI music made in-house under various "artist" pseudonyms, and not labelled as AI music, because it's free for them to make and they don't have to pay any royalties to anyone. actual music occupies a % of any given genre/mood playlist that will continue to shrink. they're slyly and dishonestly normalising AI music and pushing out smaller artists who need streams.

it's all incredibly unethical - AI music is "created" by stealing actual artists' voices for one thing - and the LAST thing we need is for music to become an AI hellscape where nobody even knows what's human-made anymore. it's one of the few industries where we have to resist and continue to push for a zero AI policy. Spotify can fuck themselves.

 

[Joseph]

It’s not true though! My cousin made 300k and counting from ONE SONG on Spotify, because he released it independently. The labels have been chasing him ever since - most of whom aren’t doing so because they value his potential as an artist, the want to tie him into a lifetime streaming deal where the pay for his studio time and marketing, and they get the royalties. It’s happening everywhere. Labels have manipulated what was meant to be a new, open source opportunity for musicians. Now, could Spotify do more to protect and encourage artists to release music on their own and make their own money? Possibly. But we’re talking about millions of songs and they already have the issue of monitoring AI when it comes to independent music.

Independent artists of course make more which is why Raye made the smart move to do it all herself.

I know Apple used to make it nearly impossible for independent artists to upload their own stuff. Not sure what it’s like now.

 

[disneyteletubby]

I mean the record deals were awful back in the day and I can’t imagine they are any better now unless the are an already established property.

Enya was lucky with her Warner record deal (late 1980s to late 2000s) but after the contract ended, streaming didn't help, but Dark Sky Island boosted things a bit

then I think 2021 was big

(for her, established of course)

 

[LTZ]

I just switched to Qobuz this weekend. sound quality is great. there is last.fm integration if that's important to you, and playlist transfer was so easy. the app also just looks and feels nicer than alternatives I think. I have found any absent features yet to make me feel like I'm missing spotify.

they don't have PODCASTS so I've had to download a podcast app for that but it's no biggie. and as far as I know Qobuz isn't forcing AI SHIT into their playlists which was a big reason I wanted to switch.

did the same 2 days ago and very happy

 

[Devil]

I’m more annoyed that things pop up on my recommended list, I like them and then find out they are AI. I don’t think there is a way you can select not to get AI songs as far as I’m aware, but it certainly puts a downer on it when you find something fresh just to discover it isn’t an actual artist.

 

[funky]

Independent artists of course make more which is why Raye made the smart move to do it all herself.

I know Apple used to make it nearly impossible for independent artists to upload their own stuff. Not sure what it’s like now.

Well yes, smart, but you could also argue risky - while it worked well for Raye there's probably hundreds of now-independent artists that it didn't work out for. That points more to the stranglehold the labels still have on the industry, rather than Spotify.

I'm more interested in this notion that Spotify are flooding playlists with AI. I've hardly seen anything. There's been a couple of dodgy looking recommendations that I've stumbled upon and I've gone to check and reddit etc have confirmed that they're AI, and there's been a vicious backlash against it. They weren't Spotify generated though. They were outed as independent producers creating AI music. If Spotify are doing that I don't see how it's sustainable and surely a huge risk to their business - there is nobody in the industry who would support it. I don't understand why they would do something so risky to their brand.

 

[Kala]

I am too embedded in the Spotify world to leave, the playlists I have, the ones they generate for me and the DJ feature keep me there. I don't think any other platform comes close.

 

[POP!]

The charts are so boring these days. Low streams and mostly nostalgia charting high

 

[Jark]

there legit hasn't been a song of the summer since Espresso and Birds of a Feather. I'd be keen to know if a lot of people have left spotify, or if (new) music currently just isn't inspiring huge streams.

 

[funky]

There’s just a real lack of new music. The release schedule has been anaemic. It’s just encouraging old songs to come to the fore even more. It doesn’t help that artists are less and less likely to have a hit song or album from whatever they release.