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Hello! If you don’t know me, my name is Iarlaithe and I absolutely love listening to music, but other than that I used to produce my own music under the name No Pedestrians. Earlier this month I stopped using Spotify and moved to physical media and a site called Demus, I have also stopped producing music (for a plethora of reasons), however I am still a musician outside of this.
But why did I stop using Spotify you ask? Well for many reasons, but there are a few major points and maybe they’ll even convince you to move to another streaming platform!
My first big reason as to why I stopped using Spotify is being we don’t actually own anything we’re using on there, simply just renting it. Because we aren’t buying the music on Spotify, it can be taken away from us whenever. I’m sure you’ve experienced it before when a track or album by an artist you like has just vanished overnight - and it’s annoying, right? With physical media however, the music stays yours because it’s not tied to someone’s licensing deal so there’s never the risk of it just disappearing!
Another factor as to why I no longer use Spotify is how much AI is integrated into the site. Not only are AI features being shoved in our faces with the DJ and AI playlist creations, but the co-president of Spotify has stated that AI-generated music is more than welcome on the platform. As an artist, specifically a musician, I am so extremely against the use of AI in the arts - no matter what the art is. You can now find thousands of AI generated music, albums, and even artists on Spotify now, with some real artists finding AI-generated music in their discographies which they haven’t created!
The third reason why I quit using the platform is because of how complicit Daniel Ek is with war & AI being used with it. My proof of this? He recently led a €600 MILLION investment in Helsing, which is a defence company - turning modern warfare into something like a video game (said by Wired). They develop military strike drones, underwater surveillance systems, and use AI software to enhance weapon systems. I do not want my money which I used to buy premium going towards an AI “defence” company. 🤷🏻
My final (large) reason is because of how much - rather, how little - Spotify pays artists in royalties: and let me tell you now, it is minuscule. The majority of artists earn between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream in 2025 , meaning you’ll need at least 250 streams on one song to earn just a dollar. In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new royalty policy, this policy was meant to help artists but it really affects upcoming artists. There is now a minimum stream threshold, which means only tracks which get 1000 streams a year are eligible for payments - many small or upcoming musicians can’t maintain this, thus making it nearly impossible for them to earn their $0.003.
So yeah, I’m not using Spotify anymore and I’m no longer releasing music anymore (or at least for a little while, and no longer onto Spotify if I ever start producing again). Spotify’s streaming quality is also awful compared to YouTube music or Apple Music which is crazy to me considering how big of a platform it is!
If you can, I highly recommend joining Demus (I think it was taken off the AppStore though…) or any other streaming service such as Apple Music. I also recommend investing in physical media! Not only do you actually own what you purchase, you also start a neat, physical collection of the music you like. You can start with CDs which are the cheapest, and eventually start buying cassettes and records - or, you can buy whatever you want and listen to music on whatever medium you want! You can thrift physical media (including VHS tapes and DVDs), and buy them at music stores anywhere. :D
If you made it to the end of the essay, hello and thank you for reading! I spent just over an hour drafting, editing, writing and eventually posting this one (oops). If you haven’t already, check out my other blogs such as this one about the UK’s Online Safety Act, and this one which is also about Spotify! Thank you again, and have a great day :3 <3
Comments
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ashton
I've been buying cds and such for a while but I haven't fully dipped my toes into it yet. This has convinced me to try and completely switch from spotify to physical media
Thank you!
HOORAY!
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
Meriamelie
i've been a D1 spotify hater ever since i can remember. what i do is rip cds of music i have, put the the songs into itunes on my computer, and then transfer the music to itunes on my phone! i hate the feeling of not owning the music i listen to. i remember one time (i think it was earlier this year?) soad's toxicity was removed from spotify, and i remember people were freaking out over it. meanwhile, i was glad i have a cd copy. :P
Oooh!! :0 I wanna start burning my own CDs, just gotta get a laptop & a cd burner thingy XD
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rawdtm
I’ve been using Apple Music since 2021 (or maybe 2022) and honestly, I feel like It’s much better than Spotify in my opinion. It works perfectly fine with AirPods and music quality is amazing. I started using it because I was able to download music onto my Apple Watch and listen with a bluetooth headphone. (I didn’t had normal phone back then, I had to switch up to an old foldable phone because of our exams. LGS if you know what I’m talking about, so my parents took away my phone to focus on that exam.)
So about the “ it can be taken away from us whenever. ” thing… Apple Music lets you to add music using a computer. You can just drag the mp3 file onto your iTunes library and song that you’ve transferred to your Apple account will stay there FOREVER. I’ve used this method to listen to some of Playboi Carti’s and Kendrick Lamar’s leaked song. I’m using cobalt.tools to download some of these songs from YouTube. (currently not available due to copyright issues)
Now I wont get into the political issues bla blah blah but as much as I can say I’m happy to use it and my parents are too.
Dandy Leon (彈帝獅)
I NEVER needed Spotify. YouTube and VKontakte did the best jobs at introducing me to musicians that would become my absolute favorites.
>amargenden17<
I’ve used physical media for a year now best decision ever
ミ★ 𝘕𝘢𝘺𝘢 ★彡
as much as i would love too stop using spotify, I have over 3000 liked songs (yes I love them all) that I don't want too lost, nor add too somewhere else as it took me 3 years to accumulate that...3
Rachel
I stop listening to Spotify after hearing they support someone i don't like. I also couldn't handle hoe many adds there are. Plus! Having CDs are so much better! You get little posters, you own the music, you support the artist, and its a big flex saying, "yeah i have CDs" or at least in my little group it is. But you have just as good reasons to! :D
I looooove my CDs - even my vinyls sometimes give posters!! :3
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RNotte
that’s the spirit! i’ve recently fixed my CD burner drive, so i’ve started burning my music onto CD-Rs and selling them. from now on, as a musician, i’ll be prioritizing bandcamp and soundcloud, and buying cassette/CD/record releases. and i encourage other musicians and music fans to do the same
Ah that’s awesome!
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firefly
Loved this, so many solid and well communicated points. I absolutely want to start researching other music platforms.
Thank you!! I appreciate the feedback
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
Arthur Stonem
facts
frfr
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Haya !!
Totally agree! I’ve switched to my mp3 player and it has been such a change
What are the benefits to an mp3 player compared to physical media? I’m curious :D
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
It honestly depends on the person! I chose an mp3 player because i have to take my music wherever i go so i dont have to go around carrying cds i think its more transportable??(i forgot the word i had in my mind) And less expensive especially because i have no record stores here at all, and if ur like me i would baby my cd’s in fear of scratches or anything so i wouldn't use it at all. I think if your a collector you would definitely like the concept of physical media i wouldn’t call myself a collector. But i think both physical media and mp3 player have their pros and cons!
by Haya !!; ; Report
where do you get an amp3 player!!!! i never see them being sold and when i look online i feel like all of them have bad reviews...
by VictorWillNeverHurtYou; ; Report
I got mine as a gift its the etace mp3 player i think its pretty great honestly
by Haya !!; ; Report
adrkzvl
i use soundcloud
Sweet :D
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
xoxo_wrendigo_xxx
This is so true. I've recently gave up on Spotify and went back to cd's and my iPod and it's been such a breath of fresh air. One thing that people don't mention is streaming gives you no connection to your music in comparison to actually paying for it
Exactly!!
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
CorvidEclipse
Oo also adding onto this, I recommend getting an MP3 player if you LOVE music. ( I have an eclipse and it has a VOICE RECORDER and is able to have photos stored on it! ) You can just download music and listen endlessly even if your phone dies!
Ooooh awesome!!
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Wumbo
BASED SPOTIFY HATER. I always hated Spotify. The GUI is ass, the recommendations are ass. The whole platform is a mess. I miss Google's Play Music, it was the best music app due to its ability to actually help you find new music. Sure Youtube Music is good, but it's still flawed compared to the original app- possibly due to the AI-influenced algorithm, yet it's not nearly as bad as Spotify.
Oh for sure!!
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rev
Spotify is literal ass cancer, I don't get why people used it in the first place. I tried it once and it was the worst experience I've ever had.
I only used it cuz I was on my family’s premium plan, it was cheap for us as a whole but I don’t use it anymore :p I use Demus which is free, with no interrupting ads & I can transfer playlists over
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
Chorline
THIS IS PERFECTLY WRITTEN. now i can see things more clearly. I was actually thinking about leaving spotify. keep up the blogs ur writing skills are amazing!
TYSM!! :3
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River
It feels really weird reading this while listening to Spotify LMAO (*/ω＼*) One thing I always did was just downloading playlists on my phone through some sites (I'd rather take a bullet in the eye than buy Premium) I found. Also this is very nicely written!! Will probably move to some other site or do what I said before but this time download the songs on my laptop (bcs my phone is broken.....3)
Honestly doing that is great cuz listening to the playlists somewhere else other than Spotify is better than using it LOLZ there are so many sites where you can transfer your playlists too!! :D
Tysm btw, it’s appreciated 🫶🏻
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. ／ ⋆ ۪ ❝ kainé .
This isbsp well written! Ive started to get physical cds from my favourite artist! Also thank you so much for the alternatives!!
Thank you so much, and that’s awesome!! I absolutely love CDs, I’ve got around 80 now (not sure the exact number, I need to recount lolz) — and ur so welcome!! X3
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xXn1koXx
This was pretty well written!! Well done !!
Btw I'd also recommend having an mp3 library if you can! I usually just rip music off of youtube for my library or go on archive.org but winamp is what i use on pc and i used to use musicolet on my android phone, but now I use an iPod instead
also if you buy cds, you can rip them onto your pc and you'd get wayy better quality than what the youtube versions have. Then you dont have to bring cds and a cd player around (Unless you're into that style of listening)
by xXn1koXx; ; Report
Dude I would kill for an iPod so I could mod it and use it for music !!!!! I’m asking for one for my 18th next year LOLZ
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
wait why do u wanna mod it?? just asking cause i havent rly found any features im locked out of like, its pretty good on stock firmware? At least thats the case with my ipod nano 4th gen, idk if ur talking abt a different ipod but the classics are also pretty good as well and i like those ui also
by xXn1koXx; ; Report
i mean maybe if ur modding to remove the itunes thingy but i dont really mind it, it's not that annoying to transfer music with itunes
by xXn1koXx; ; Report
or unless u mean like a physical mod like usb-c or wireless but maybe its just me finding it strange to mod an ipod cause im into the whole "retro" vibes of it so i dont mind using wired earphones
by xXn1koXx; ; Report
I just enjoy modding old tech !! It’s something I’m really interested in is all :D
by iarlaithe !!; ; Report
fair enough. im a bit of purist maybe ??? so i dont really like modding unless its to restore online features xd
by xXn1koXx; ; Report
Fair enough!! :D
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