Article23rd August, 2021 / music

Leaving Spotify for Apple: a music obsessive’s observations

Fed up with Spotify’s UI tinkering, podcast peddling and attitude to artists, I spent the Summer with Apple Music and compiled a detailed list of pros and cons for both services.

The prospect of switching digital service provider makes me so anxious that I will usually not switch at all. This fear has a lot to do with our data still being far from portable, despite acknowledging the principle of orbital content for over a decade. There’s also the time required to manage that switch and learn how a new place works. And while there will be exciting feature gains, there will also be frustrating losses. And if a service relates in any way to music, then my anxiety will triple. I mean, we’re not talking about emails or company accounts or a lifetime of work files; we’re talking about a music collection, which is genuinely important.

I was heartbroken when Rdio shut down and I had to dust off an earlier, neglected Spotify account. Having crafted paths to good discovery and set up everything just as I liked, to start again elsewhere was a reminder that nothing is forever and everything is transient in digital product land. We rent our music, which arrives as little data packets, and our collections are just numbers and relationships presided over by a dev team and fed into an algorithm. (I do have a physical collection, but I enjoy it in tandem with a vast amount of streaming.)

Over the last couple of years, I’ve been an increasingly dissatisfied Spotify user, tied to the service with all those crafted paths and over 100 playlists but restless. In June this year, I decided to try Apple Music, keeping notes as I learned more about the differences between the two.

The pros and cons of each

Right then. After many years with Spotify and almost three months exclusively using Apple Music, here are my pros and cons for each service.

I should note here that high-quality audio is not a significant factor, even though I have an excellent stereo setup and regularly marvel at the previously unheard details I hear on vinyl. I’m indifferent to Apple’s new Spatial Dolby Atmos stuff (even though, yes, I can appreciate some spaciousness in my wired B&Os), so Spotify’s imminent Hifi service is unlikely to influence me.

Bear in mind that this is a subjective topic and that I am really, really into my music and care deeply about how I discover and organise it, so I have precise criteria to consider. There’s also a lot more focus on Apple Music here, as that’s where my attention has been all Summer.

Oh, and I share these thoughts fully aware that there will be obstacles I know nothing about, and with great respect to any of you working hard to make these products better.

Spotify pros

• The sense that it’s an unbeatable catalogue and that if obscure Bandcamp releases and other under-the-radar stuff is not on Spotify then it isn’t streaming anywhere.
• Follow artists to influence the algorithm directly and never miss a new release. To me, following equates to fanship.
• Release Radar is excellent, as are some of the other personalised playlists. I like Duo Mix, informed by what my wife and I both listen to. I’m less reliant on Discover Weekly but know how valuable that is to many of you.
• Easy to share playlists and albums to social channels and collaborate with others.
• Playlist suggestions and in-playlist search.
• Easy to arrange playlists and bury curated lists inside folders.
• Back buttons work as expected, letting me backtrack through my recent steps (see Apple Music cons).
• Works great on desktop and phone with seamless device switching. Pretty good in the car too.
• The What’s New list is an excellent recent addition.
• The relatively new History view is also handy.
• Some of the music-focused documentaries and podcasts are exceptional.
• It’s fun to open Friend Activity and see what everyone’s listening to. It's also nice to go Private if I want to play something a little... oh, apparently, there’s no such thing as a “guilty pleasure”.

Spotify cons

• Coming from iTunes and then Rdio, and not favouring dark mode on anything ever, I’m fed up with the dark UI.
• There’s something about Spotify’s attitude that feels a bit “if Facebook did streaming”, thanks in part to piss-poor artists’ renumeration. No service pays well, but Spotify seems unwilling to drive change, and thinks a digital tip jar will make a difference.
• No pre-releases, meaning every advance track gets treated as a single, which is harder to manage in the long run.
• No context or notes for releases. The lack of nerdy passion makes music feel like a utility.
• Very little focus on record labels.
• Almost too many ‘curated’ playlists and moods; an overwhelming choice of often underwhelming lists. Nobody needs “Garden Indie”.
• I can’t move for podcasts and a handful of hosts make me uneasy. I don’t want podcasts in my music app, except maybe music-specific material (of which there is, admittedly, a lot). Remy shared a fiddly fix for removing podcasts on Mac.
• The occasional UI and flow changes disrupt learned paths and add a bit of friction. Take, for example, the recent change to search, which mean it’s sometimes hidden, and the new bossy filtering that applies to the entire Library rather than just albums or playlists, etc.
• It’s music, so algorithms are unreliable. Spotify likes to recommend bands that I do not like.
• The copy reminds me that I’m getting old: lots of vibes and feels and stuff about energy. They talk about “chamber psych” and assume that I am always in need of driving music. They think I watch Love Island.

Apple Music Pros

• White and bright, like Rdio, and refreshing after Spotify’s dark UI.
• Initially, I kept expecting something I love or an obscure new release to be missing, but that hasn’t happened.
• I can add pre-release albums to my Library, which is huge for me as I tend to be looking far ahead. Advance tracks are wedded to albums: add a new song, and you get a placeholder for the forthcoming album with a tracklist, etc. (Wishlist: give me a Library category or means of filtering pre-releases.)
• New track releases bring the pre/release or just-released album to the top of Recently Added, and I get an iOS notification each time.
• It feels like music fans are dictating things at every level, not just compiling thoughtful playlists.
• The consistent five introductory playlists for key artists: Essentials, Next Steps, Deep Cuts, Influences, Inspired.
• More related stuff: videos, sessions, interviews and track by tracks, radio appearances, etc.
• Multiple versions of an album where appropriate.
• Can click on most record labels to see a good releases overview.
• Art direction: those classic Apple store cards; an image and one line overview or intriguing quote. Some attractive presentation and animation for essential albums and primary playlists, plus updated playlist notes.
• Occasional introductory notes about essential albums; something I loved about Rdio and is completely missing from Spotify.
• Good category pages with a manageable choice of curated playlists (and the mood menu is less exhaustive).
• It’s easy to embed playlists and albums (and they look good) and get share links.
• Optional status bar for songs, duration, filesize.
• I can tap to dislike things!
• For my public profile, I can choose which playlists to show and the specific order.
• Smart playlists
• Made For You playlists. I like that I can choose which generated playlists to add to this section.
• Good browse pages and deep playlists for worldwide stuff: Japanese/Asian, African, Deutschpop, etc.
• The discovery algorithm can be brilliant; For example, I’d played a couple of interesting Asian shoegaze bands that I like, and the stuff it unearthed in that narrow seam — extremely obscure, often unsigned bands from Seoul to Shanghai and beyond — has been superb.
• It’s easy to enhance with Shortcuts across my devices. I have a few NFC tags around to play my radio station or Loved tracks to my stereo.
• Device handoff is pretty good, with playlists continuing in the car and always easily controlled with my watch. But I occasionally miss Spotify’s “Listening on...” switching.

Apple Music cons

• The desktop app looks alright, but I agree with those who consider it the weak point. The Library needs some more view options; clicking and general interaction lacks snap. Everything is better on iOS with extra features such as seeing your playlist followers and featured artists.
• Also desktop: It was days before I realised why the back button seemed so inconsistent: paths of travel are contained within sections, e.g. my movements in Listen Now, or Albums, or playlist folders, and never merged. So, I often have to navigate with a combo of back button and sidebar. Most often, I hit that ellipsis for options or CMD+L to see the current tracklist.
• Listen Now recommendations start a bit ‘classic rock’, and Browse seemed like a Calvin Harris fanclub. After a few hours, Listen Now reflected my taste, but Browse is still very Dance/pop unless I choose a genre. And the algorithm needs to understand that I don’t need any kids playlists ever.
• No playlist collaboration.
• Can’t put playlists in manual order or file Apple-curated ones in folders, so the sidebar gets a bit disorganised.
• Full notes about an album or playlist appear in ugly popups rather than expand/collapse in the main window.
• Playlist and album embeds are big, so I need to tweak the height, but if it’s any less than 220px, the cover is obscured. At least individual track embeds have a smaller cover. An album link on Twitter creates a small pleasing preview, but playlists create a large summary image with a cover framed by lots of space.
• If I delete an album from my Library, any of its tracks in my playlists will disappear. I hate this because I like to add many new albums and will often wish to keep only one or more tracks in my Music Weekly and yearly playlists. This assumption about how we’d like to manage our music is my biggest issue with the service.
• Remixer names aren’t clickable; a terrible experience for artists who gain exposure via remixes (hat tip, Elliot).
• Some of the Radio shows are good, but overall it’s not suited to me, and I rarely look at that tab. But, at least radio shows mostly stay within their tab, unlike Spotify’s plague of podcasts.
• I can’t save a radio show for later or subscribe in any way. Apple needs to take a look at how BBC Sounds and NTS Radio do it.

Neither service shows complete album artwork or any liner notes. I still have to buy an album to enjoy the full vision of the designer, and I’ll often go to Discogs for all the credits. I find it surprising that Apple doesn’t show more artwork, seeing as they once wowed us with Coverflow and pushed premium albums with immersive digital packaging. Streaming’s disregard for detail and context is something I’ve mentioned previously, a loss that Jordan Moore describes as an experience gap. That said, Apple Music explores some interesting animation experiments that transcend traditional static album covers.

And finally, it’s interesting how many UI patterns and details are identical across all products. While people like me regularly lament a lack of imagination, there are probably only a certain number of ways to organise a music collection before it becomes an unworkable indulgence, so fair enough.

Apple to the core (sorry)

The story of Apple music management features two decades of giddy highs and lamentable lows. It’s a story that might one day come bundled as an audiobook narrated by Bono, whether we want it or not. I began writing a synopsis, but expect you have better things to do (or not, seeing as you’re still reading this). Let’s just say that Apple looks to have earned back some respect. Sure, Spotify has twice the subscribers, but Music’s audience is growing. Its users are loyal, and the service is, for the most part, excellent.

And so, while I’m currently paying for both services, it’s Apple Music that sits in my phone dock. It’s through Apple’s UI that I visualise my digital collection. It’s Apple’s enthusiasm for music that’s made me love streaming all over again.

Discovery is such a key factor, and we all seek something different, so there’s no right or wrong here, but as someone who needs to find and consume lots of good new music every week, I find Apple Music wins at thoughtfully unearthing new stuff. Even so, nobody should be relying solely on their streaming service to discover new music. Read music sites and personal blogs, talk to friends, go to record shops, look at what’s happening in other countries and cultures. Cast your net wide.

While evaluating Apple Music, I kept thinking about one of Chris Coyier’s 40 for 40 points. Chris wrote that he has never regretted being an Apple fanboy. Although I don’t consider myself a fanboy, I realised that moving my music back into that ecosystem would make it more connected and controllable, from my wrist to my pocket and right through my house.

Agree, disagree or have a question? Drop a reply on Twitter.

Using an intermediary service

There are many tools and services to move things between streaming services, but I chose Free Your Music because it allows me to keep selected lists and album library in sync. FYM also helped me see which tracks Apple couldn’t find, a perfect way to evaluate their catalogue range from a very personal perspective, and in truth, it was a manageable number of tracks. I also carried my entire album collection over and again, and this went pretty well. While trialling Apple, I configured FYM to duplicate my Spotify Release Radar and Discover Weekly playlists to Apple Music.

Now that I’m happy with Apple, I’ve reversed things, using FYM only to update my public playlists at Spotify as a few folks follow my weekly and yearly playlists.

Using FYM hasn’t been without some frustration, and it pays to double-check the results, but it’s saved me a significant amount of work and may suit some of you.

By the way...

I compile a popular playlist called Colly’s Music Weekly, my regular roundup of earworthy new tunes. It’s available on both Spotify and Apple Music. You can also check out my vast 2021 Faves on Apple and Spotify. And if you like that, previous yearlies are available.

And finally, because it should be said: whatever streaming service I use, it will always be in tandem with Bandcamp and Discogs and independent record shops. The arts are under increasing threat and artists struggle more than they ever have, so we should each do what we can to support them.

• music
• spotify
• apple music
• bandcamp
• technology
• design