Spotify, a popular music streaming service, is facing backlash from artists and users alike due to its recent controversies. A growing number of artists, including Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, are removing their music from the platform. The primary reasons for this exodus are Spotify’s algorithm, which critics argue has turned music lovers into “lazy listeners,” and the company’s failure to fairly compensate artists for their work.
Additionally, Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, has faced criticism for his investment in a company developing AI for military use. This has sparked outrage among artists, with many citing Ek’s ties to AI-driven defense tech as the reason for their departure from the platform. Deerhoof, in a statement to NPR, emphasized that they do not want their music to be associated with AI battle tech, stating, “We don’t want our success being tied to AI battle tech.”
As a result, many users are also choosing to boycott the company and switch to alternative music streaming services such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal. However, one of the main obstacles to switching platforms is the difficulty of transferring saved music and playlists. To address this issue, Apple Music has introduced a feature that allows users to import music from Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL, and YouTube.
For users looking to transfer their playlists and saved songs from Spotify to Apple Music, the process is relatively straightforward. It requires an iPhone, the Spotify app, the Apple Music app, and an Apple Music subscription. The steps involve navigating to the Apps section in Settings, selecting Music, and then choosing to transfer music from other music services. Users can then select Spotify as the service to transfer from, sign into their account, and choose what to transfer, including songs and playlists.
Once the transfer is complete, Apple Music may ask users to review alternatives for certain songs. After making the necessary selections, the transfer process is complete. As the controversy surrounding Spotify continues to grow, it remains to be seen how the company will respond to the backlash from artists and users. In the meantime, alternative music streaming services are likely to benefit from the influx of new users.