Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
I am a snob when it comes to music choices. I have spent countless hours in my teenage years arguing with strangers on the internet that Megadeth is overrated, or defending Nickelback from being smeared as the worst rock band ever. Now, while I’ve realized I have been wrong in imposing my music choices on others, I still maintain a high level of scrutiny when deciding which music tracks will remain in my Spotify playlists.
Yes, I rely on Spotify as one of my go-to music streaming services. With Spotify hogging the most significant chunk of the market among all music streaming services and serving more than 275 million paid subscribers monthly, I’m certainly part of the majority here. However, I have witnessed Spotify’s recommendations for new music getting progressively worse, and that has made discovering new music daunting, despite its drumming up of using AI to help you find music that matches your liking.
And while I’m not ditching Spotify entirely, I have taken matters into my own hands, rebuilding my Spotify experience brick by brick instead of being at the algorithm’s mercy. But before I explain myself, please tell me if you feel the same about Spotify and its automatic recommendations.
Are you satisfied with Spotify's default recommendations? 14 votes Yes, they serve me well 29 % No, but I'm sticking for features 29 % No, I'm switched to alternatives 14 % YouTube Music FTW! 21 % I only use Hi-Fi music services 7 % Streaming music is bad for artists 0 %
I stopped using Spotify, but came back
Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
I have been a Spotify subscriber for almost seven years, and the decision to continue paying the Swedish (music) warlords stems not from its music discovery. In fact, it was one of the reasons that made me stop using it briefly, but I had to return.
I did so for the ease it offers with features like the easy-to-sort playlists, which I’ve found to be the quickest to download, especially when I’m flying and only remember to download some music just five minutes before take-off. That ease is also vital for me because I, as a phone reviewer, have to switch phones very frequently, sometimes every couple of weeks, and transferring all my music to a new device feels much easier with Spotify.
Another reason I couldn’t successfully relinquish Spotify was Blend. I love that Spotify generates a reasonably balanced and passable playlist with songs that both my wife and I like that we can play while driving. This is especially useful for road trips, so we don’t have to constantly juggle between two phones or actively engage with the phone and be away from the views outside the window.
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