Bye bye, Spotify!

Why this is a good moment to step away and reshape our listening habits

Hej friends,

I’d love to take a moment to talk about the current state of music streaming. Some of you may have seen headlines about it for years, some might have just noticed a few stories here and there, and others may not have thought about it at all.

So let’s talk about it.

In recent months, Spotify has once again come under fire for questionable corporate practices and ethics. For me, this was the final nudge to make significant changes, both in how I listen to music and how I want to present my own work. As a creature of habit, that hasn’t been easy.

Like many of you, I often gravitate toward convenience rather than confrontation, and Spotify has long been the most convenient option. But after cycling through several services over the years and repeatedly falling back into the “convenience trap,” it felt inevitable to finally ground myself and act according to my values.

To be clear: my aim here is not to guilt or shame anyone for using Spotify. I’ve been a loyal user myself since its early days, when a friend sent me a beta invite to a platform that seemed almost too good to be true. Back then, the catalog was tiny (no German label backlists, hardly any indie records) but once the big deals were signed, Spotify rose quickly and soon disrupted the entire download model. Today, it dominates global streaming with over half a billion users, growing by about 10% each year.

So in the next parts, I’ll share why many musicians (both big names and niche acts) are pulling their work from the platform, and what real alternatives we have if we want to support music more fairly.

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1. Unfair artist payouts:

Most artists on Spotify earn less than 0,004€ per stream. That means even thousands of streams often don’t cover the price of a coffee. For independent musicians who don’t have label support, this model is simply unsustainable.

In addition, after recent changes in the company’s payout policy, songs that accumulate less than 1.000 streams in a 12-month period aren’t being monetised at all. This threshold is meant to ensure that only songs with a certain amount of engagement are part of their payout pool.

But really: Are 20 tracks with 999 streams still considered “too low”?

2. Audio quality lags behind:

Even though they’ve just launched it in a dozen countries, Spotify still hasn’t fully rolled out true lossless streaming worldwide, while services like Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, and Apple Music have been offering CD-quality or even hi-res audio for ages.

I know, not everyone is an audiophile and not everyone cares, but to me this was a huge selling point when making the switch. We’re way past the point of low-quality MP3 torrent downloads that make your earbuds sizzle and your eardrums shiver in disgust.

3. Algorithms favour the mainstream:

Spotify’s playlists are heavily driven by algorithms and label deals. This makes it much harder for niche or independent artists to be discovered organically. In addition, some of these playlists have been heavily infiltrated and occupied by AI-music, which not only undermines real artistic expression, but also keeps listeners from discovering music made by real human beings.

4. Corporate priorities & ethics:

Over the years, Spotify has invested more and more into questionable exclusive podcasts, AI tools, and even controversial industries (Daniel Ek’s 600 million investment in military AI technology anyone?), while keeping artist royalties low.

For many musicians, this shows where their true priorities lie and it doesn’t seem to be with music.

5. You don’t actually own anything:

On Spotify, you rent access. Albums can vanish overnight due to licensing changes. On Bandcamp, for example, you actually buy the music: you keep the files, can download them in multiple formats, and still stream them via their app.

6. Monopoly & market dominance:

Spotify controls ~30% of the global streaming market. This dominance creates a near-monopoly situation, which gives them the power to set terms for artists and listeners alike. Less competition means fewer incentives to raise payouts, improve quality, or innovate ethically.

7. Royalty distribution model (“the pro-rata model”):

Spotify pays artists from a centralized pool. Your subscription fee doesn’t go directly to the artists you listen to, but into one big pot that gets divided according to total streams across the platform.

This means: If you only stream small indie artists, much of your monthly fee still goes to Drake, Ed Sheeran, or Taylor Swift.

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If you’ve read this far and you feel like you'd love to make a change, to support music and art more directly, but wonder:

How convenient is it to make the switch?

What happens to all my favourite playlists?

Which streaming service should I use?

What do you suggest I should do?

Here’s what I think:

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1. Pick your main streaming replacement:

Tidal: Offers higher artists payouts, provides lossless audio, and has a clean interface. It’s what I use and is (in my opinion) closest to the Spotify user-interface experience. They also offer a family plan, which is helpful if you’ve been using something similar.

Apple Music: Has a huge catalog. Lossless/hi-res audio is included. They also provide lots of genre-specific / mood-based playlists as well.

Qobuz: An audiophile favourite, thanks to their hi-res downloads and streams. They offer lots of liner notes, but have a smaller catalog.

Bandcamp: Not a direct Spotify replacement (no “infinite catalog”), but an essential complement if you want to truly support the artists you love. I’ve been using it for years, since they also provide a shop system, which allows bands to offer digital downloads as well as vinyl, CDs, and merchandise.

A common strategy is:

Streaming service of your choice for convenience & discovery. Bandcamp for directly supporting the artists you actually care about and want to keep forever.

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2. Migrate your playlists & library:

The good news is: there are tools that move your playlists almost seamlessly: Soundiiz (most flexible, free & paid options), TuneMyMusic, FreeYourMusic.

These services let you log into Spotify and your new platform, and they’ll transfer playlists, liked songs, and even albums. Sometimes obscure tracks may not exist on the new platform (especially indie releases), but 80–95% of your library usually transfers fine.

I’ve used these tools myself to transfer my favourite personal playlists when I made the switch. In addition, Tidal has also recently added the option to personalise your lists with cover and additional info. Yay!

By the way, if you’re curious, I’ve made some of my curated playlists available here:
Deep Resonance | Slowly Floating | Electric Impulse

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3. What happens to your playlists?

The structure stays intact (playlist names, track order). The songs map to the new platform’s catalog. Some tracks might be missing if they’re exclusive to Spotify or not available elsewhere.

Your “algorithmic” mixes (Discover Weekly, Release Radar) won’t transfer, but similar features exist (e.g. Tidal’s “My Mix,” Apple’s “Personal Mixes”).

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4. How convenient is the switch?

You should be able to complete the actual migration in a single evening. As with everything new, you’ll need to get used to a new interface (as I mentioned, Tidal feels closest to Spotify), and your music recommendations may take a while to be more spot on / in line with your musical taste, but for everyday use (commute, workouts, home listening), it’s pretty seamless once you adjust muscle memory.

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Here’s a suggested path for you:

→ Keep Spotify for one more month while you test the new service (most offer a free trial).

→ Migrate your playlists with Soundiiz/TuneMyMusic (you could also run side-by-side comparisons).

→ Pick one “convenience streamer”. Adopt Bandcamp for artists you want to support directly (maybe set yourself a rule like: “Each month I buy one album I’ve been streaming heavily.”)

→ Cancel Spotify once you’re confident your new setup covers 90% of your habits.

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Final note:

Of course, it’s difficult to predict how things will develop and what the near future of listening to music will look (and sound!?) like. It’s equally difficult to guarantee that none of the alternative platforms will ever make decisions that clash with our moral compass.

After years of circling back to Spotify out of habit, I’ve finally committed to stepping away. It wasn’t an easy decision (change rarely is). But in the end, I realized that if I want to see a healthier and more fair music ecosystem, I have to align my own habits with that vision.

That vision doesn’t involve an ecosystem that exploits the very foundation of its existence.

If you feel the same pull, know that there are options out there. And even small steps matter: like buying an album on Bandcamp once a month, or switching one of your playlists over to another platform. Collectively, these choices add up and can disrupt an unhealthy system, that is fine-tuned to benefit few while leaving crumbs for the many.

Much love,
Paul ♥️

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