I’ve Given Up On Music Streaming

Enshittification has reached intolerable levels

In July, the writer Kyle Chayka published an op-ed in The New Yorker: “Why I Finally Quit Spotify”.

That article was interesting. Because it wasn’t about payouts or Joe Rogan.

It was about user experience.

After a recent software update to the Spotify app, Chayka faced difficulties to find his music. It occured as if the app was pushing him to “listen to what it suggests, not choose music on my own.”

The design updates made it harder for him to play albums or browse discographies. Instead he felt nudged to listen to algorithmic playlists and podcasts.

To him, these updates appeared as a step in Spotify’s enshittification – a term the writer and activist Cory Doctorow coined for the pattern of decline in quality witnessed at many online platforms while maximizing profit and stock price.

Chayka suggests that Spotify’s goal might be to turn users into passive, “lean-back” listeners, so that the company becomes less reliant on licensing specific content.

Because he wasn’t having any of this, he deleted the app – and signed up to Apple Music. In his view, their app “doesn’t shoehorn in other types of content in a desperate bid to capture my attention. It’s cleaner, calmer, and a better listening experience.”

While I find that conclusion weak and half-hearted, I have to admit that I agree with some of Chayka’s criticism.¹

The issue with music streaming is much bigger though, and I don’t think it can be avoided by just changing the app.

The problem boils down to the fact that the streaming age is dominated by an “utilitarian approach” which leaves true music fans disconnected with everything we once loved about music.²