This article was a timely read for me as I’ve been pondering on this topic. As an independent artist, I have felt this burden to keep Spotify as my main platform as that’s where the masses listen to their music. Over the years, I’ve become disillusioned with Spotify, seeing the changes that have taken place, the ‘social mediafication’ of its interface and of course, how artist aren’t getting paid what they deserve. My approach with releasing music these days is to share some singles on streaming platforms but to save larger body of works for Bandcamp. It feels scary since a lot of listeners still prefer Spotify but personally, if I don’t break away from the domination of Spotify, I’m going to be making music to fit in rather than stand out.
I’m in the middle of this process so this could not have come at a better time! I feel that using higher quality streaming is nudging me to start my audiophile journey, which is great to really appreciate the music that I love
Dear Paul! Thank you for the detailed information. Indeed, Spoilify is as convenient as awful. Nevertheless, it supports my post pandemic active deep dive into music, having listened to more than 1000 new artists (new to my ears) and helped me to pick more than 200 concerts to visit post pandemic. 2 of these had you on the drumstool. The one in Berlin Kesselhaus was one of the best I've attended in 40 years, bringing The Ocean on par with King Crimson, Jinjer, or Tori Amos in the ninetees. Meanwhile, my Bandcamp digital purchases reach 3000 releases soon. Bandcamp and Soundcloud, which I pick to support indie releases due to their special subscription fee distribution, are currently the best in supporting the musical arts and artists. Thanks to your research and advise I am engaged to look into Quobuz and Tidal agian. However, the family subscription model of Spoilify is a hard selling point. Love, Frank
I tried Tidal recently bc of the concerns with Spotify. I didn't find it as good, algorithm wise, and then I read something somewhere that said Tidal is not ethical either. I'll look into the other platforms you mentioned.
This article was a timely read for me as I’ve been pondering on this topic. As an independent artist, I have felt this burden to keep Spotify as my main platform as that’s where the masses listen to their music. Over the years, I’ve become disillusioned with Spotify, seeing the changes that have taken place, the ‘social mediafication’ of its interface and of course, how artist aren’t getting paid what they deserve. My approach with releasing music these days is to share some singles on streaming platforms but to save larger body of works for Bandcamp. It feels scary since a lot of listeners still prefer Spotify but personally, if I don’t break away from the domination of Spotify, I’m going to be making music to fit in rather than stand out.
I’m in the middle of this process so this could not have come at a better time! I feel that using higher quality streaming is nudging me to start my audiophile journey, which is great to really appreciate the music that I love
Dear Paul! Thank you for the detailed information. Indeed, Spoilify is as convenient as awful. Nevertheless, it supports my post pandemic active deep dive into music, having listened to more than 1000 new artists (new to my ears) and helped me to pick more than 200 concerts to visit post pandemic. 2 of these had you on the drumstool. The one in Berlin Kesselhaus was one of the best I've attended in 40 years, bringing The Ocean on par with King Crimson, Jinjer, or Tori Amos in the ninetees. Meanwhile, my Bandcamp digital purchases reach 3000 releases soon. Bandcamp and Soundcloud, which I pick to support indie releases due to their special subscription fee distribution, are currently the best in supporting the musical arts and artists. Thanks to your research and advise I am engaged to look into Quobuz and Tidal agian. However, the family subscription model of Spoilify is a hard selling point. Love, Frank
I tried Tidal recently bc of the concerns with Spotify. I didn't find it as good, algorithm wise, and then I read something somewhere that said Tidal is not ethical either. I'll look into the other platforms you mentioned.
I stopped using Spotify a month ago. Now I use Tidal, and the audio quality is definitely better
Spotify: where music goes to die.
Never used it, never will.