If the latest Spotify controversies have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, you should know that there are alternatives for streaming music; and in some ways they are even better.
Social networks have become a battlefield (as they usually are); this time, between defenders and critics of Spotify’s latest actions. Although it has always been a somewhat contentious platform, it has been his outright defense of host Joe Rogan that has sparked a movement against the company from which he has yet to recover.
Why Spotify has been ‘cancelled’
It all started when the artist Neil Young decided to withdraw his music from Spotify, in protest at the misinformation about COVID-19 aired on the Joe Rogan podcast. The CEO and co-founder of Spotify, Daniel Ek, had to juggle, criticizing the controversial episode before his employees and, at the same time, defending the publication of the podcast on Spotify, for which he has paid 100 million dollars to prevent it from going public. other platforms.
Despite this defense of Joe Rogan, it is estimated that the company has deleted 113 chapters of the podcast, not because of misinformation, but because of the presence of racial slurs (for which Rogan has now apologized). All this has caused several artists to follow in Young’s footsteps, either criticizing the company or directly removing their songs from the platform.
Spotify was not exactly the favorite of the artists, and some have even declared that they would prefer their albums to be pirated before playing them on Spotify. The reason is in the royalty payments, which has been described as unfair. Instead of paying artists a fixed amount for each stream, Spotify calculates the amount based on the ratio of the total number of songs streamed by all users; therefore, only a small number of artists receive the lion’s share of the revenue, once Spotify takes its cut. In addition, with this system, the subscription money can end up in the hands of artists that we have never listened to, and not those that we want to support.
Finally, another reason why users are unhappy with Spotify is because of the sound quality. Spotify is the only major platform that still does not have high-quality audio, despite announcing it a year ago. Daniel Ek blames the licensing system, but that doesn’t explain why his competitors have been offering it for months, in many cases at no additional cost.
As a curiosity, we must also mention another controversy, this one of a sporting nature. This week it has become known that Spotify is about to sponsor FC Barcelona, and that it has offered 280 million euros for the presence of the brand on its shirt and at the Camp Nou. A decision that can win enemies, both rivals and the Catalans themselves. This may even be the last thing some need to close their Spotify account.
Alternatives to Spotify
If any of this news has motivated you to run away from Spotify, here are some of the best options.
Apple Music is the most obvious choice, especially if we are already inside the Apple ecosystem. This is the service that better use your AirPods, which will be better integrated into your iPhone, and which you can also enjoy on your Mac. Among its advantages is spatial audio, which makes music surround us as if we were at a concert, in addition to high-quality sound, although this really You will only take advantage of it if you connect a wired headset. Also noteworthy are the stations and playlists, created by human DJs and not by algorithms like Spotify.
It costs the same as Spotify, 9.99 euros per month, but has a Voice plan for only 4.99 euros that works only with voice commands. Among its negative aspects is that the support of other platforms is somewhat limited; Although there is an Android app and a web version, both are behind the iOS and macOS versions.
Amazon Music Unlimited has gained a lot lately, especially being mentioned by Neil Young. If you already pay Amazon Prime, you may not know that You already have access to Amazon Prime Music, a limited version of the service; It can help you to try it before subscribing for 9.99 euros to the Unlimited version, which adds more catalog and the possibility of listening to music in high quality, reaching Ultra HD, which is superior to that of a CD.
Against it, it must be said that the apps are not the best, although it is one of the services available on a greater variety of devices; and of course, it’s compatible with your Amazon Echo.
Tidal is the choice for audiophiles, as it is the one that better sound quality offers all. Not only does it have music in high definition, but in some cases it even has access to the masters of the songs, offering unparalleled studio quality. It has also gained a lot of support from artists, both for quality and for revenue sharing; and recently, it announced a direct payment system: our subscription will be shared only among the artists we listen to.
However, their catalog is the worst, and it is often difficult to find songs, especially if they are from unpopular genres or countries. In addition, it is the most expensive service, 19.99 euros per month, if you want the highest sound quality; although there is also a plan of 9.99 euros of standard sound quality.
How to switch from Spotify to another service
It is very possible that the main reason why you do not leave Spotify is because of the number of songs, playlists and albums that you have saved in your account. The good news is that all of that can be transferred to other services, at least most of it.
There are many services that allow it, but the most complete is Soundiiz. It is compatible with a wide variety of services and has functions such as the transfer from platform to platform that will allow us to forget about everything and simply press a button.
We just have to log in with our accounts and select what we want to transfer; although we must bear in mind that, due to differences in the catalog, there will probably be songs that we can only listen to on Spotify. Also, although Soundiiz has a free version, the premium version for 4.50 euros per month is the only one that will save you time.
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