Ever since Taylor Swift refused to stream her new album, 1989, on Spotify and erased all remnants of her older albums as well, there has been a lot of controversy. Was this a selfish move or an attempt to make a statement about the direction of the music industry?
I’m tired of hearing only about the artist’s view. I understand that maybe some people think Spotify doesn’t pay enough loyalties to the artist or label, but I want to talk about what Spotify gives its consumers. Before Spotify, I was wallowing in despair of trying to find new music, questionably retrieving said music, and then feeling guilty about it. Not anymore. And for the record, this list is going to be based on my experience with the full-on, pay-for-your-music option Spotify gives, not the free version with advertisements.
Spotify Pros & Cons
Pro: There are numerous types of playlists ranging from Throwback Thursday to New Music Tuesday which are updated weekly. You don’t have to do anything. A new Britney classic will be on the throwback list probably every two weeks. Who doesn’t want that?
Con: Spotify unfortunately cannot read your mind, therefore it is inevitable that there will be songs on these playlists that you dislike, hate, skip every single time, wish they would disappear, etc.
Pro: You can also create your own playlists. All you have to do is search for a song and add it to whatever playlist you want – it’s that simple. No more waiting for downloads. So if the Spotify Workout playlist doesn’t suit you, you can create your own. I don’t know how much this will help your actual workout, but at least you might feel like you’re being productive.
Con: There is no “Recently Added” playlist that songs are automatically added to like with iTunes. For me, this is a definite negative. When all I used was iTunes, it took a lot of time and energy researching new music and deciding what I wanted. But after that torture, all of my new songs would be in one place, and I would listen to that same playlist over and over again until I got sick of it. Then the process would start over. Sounds weird, but I kind of miss being able to see what songs I most recently added.
Pro: The Spotify mobile app syncs to the Spotify computer app without having to plug in your phone. It is actually amazing. Discovered a song on the go that you added on your phone? It will be on your computer later when you want to listen to it.
Con: There is no parallel con with this pro. The pro is just that good.
Pro: You also have the option of listening to Spotify radio, which is the equivalent of Pandora. Choose an artist, song, or genre to start with, and the rest of the picks will be up to Spotify based on that choice.
Con: Like Pandora, many of these Spotify picks will not be what you want to hear. Skip it or deal with it.
Pro: If you set up your Spotify through your Facebook account, you will be able to follow your friends’ playlists that they create.
Con: Many times Spotify advertises what song you are listening to on other Facebook News Feeds. This can get embarrassing when you think you’re listening to One Direction in privacy.
Pro: Finding new music and new artists has never been easier, and the consumer doesn’t have to commit to a long-term relationship. You can test the waters and listen to a few songs (in total – not 1:30 second snippets) before you decide to add it to your queue and playlists. And if after a while you decide it’s not working out, you can delete them forever from your account and not feel guilty about wasting money.
Con: Like me, you start comparing songs to relationships. Yikes.
No matter what side of the fight you’re on between music industry execs and streaming services, one thing is clear in the consumer’s mind (at least this consumer): Spotify > iTunes > Pandora. So you might as well enjoy it while you can.
The Brandwasher 