Spotify Final Review: Better than the alternatives

2020 was the year of change, change of schedule, change of routine, and for me, change of music services. Google Play Music died in 2020, YouTube music just wouldn't cut it, it's lack of stability and key features from GPM (shorthand for Google Play Music) made it a non-starter. I certainly was not heading for Apple music. Tidal, or Amazon music; I was left with one choice: Spotify. In my mind I really didn't get to choose what I wanted, I would have chosen to just stay with GPM, but there was no other alternative that made sense for me, so I faced the situation and switched. It has been about 4 months, 4 whole months of Spotify, 4 months of listening to podcasts and music on Spotify, 4 months since I switched. Spotify was my only choice in a barren wasteland on music services, it was the best choice for me. This is an objective review of the service and what mattered for me based on my own firsthand experiences over a 4-month period. Here we go. 

The Good

So, what did I like about Spotify? I liked their streamlined user interface and approach to podcasts, as I said in my first One Month later (link at the bottom) the way Spotify allows me to see which episodes I haven't listened to or which ones I left halfway is invaluable. The way playlists and the queue work are a little confusing, but I've managed to understand how it works, the playlist is the guide that when shuffled brings up a queue of songs, you can then add songs to a queue that aren't on the playlist and then order the songs accordingly as you wish. The interface makes it more complicated but it's ok, GPM for sure did a better job of organizing playlists and the queue making it always available for use and shuffling. Playlist's themselves live in the library tab, it's simple to add songs and shuffle, I wish it was simpler but for now it works.  

 

Podcasts are the main thing I listen to on Spotify and I like the way Spotify handles them, having them ordered by latest release helps me see which one to listen to next, all while keeping me on my toes about episodes I missed. GPM never had this feature and it almost makes up for the lack of good episode notifications (almost). The search bar is also streamlined and simple allowing for quick searches for specific topics, it outclasses GPM in every way. The interface for the Android app is great but I still have some complaints (more on that later), overall, it combines a modern interface with dynamic information to give me a great listening experience for both music and podcasts. 

 

 

Spotify was also incredibly stable, there were no glitches, no crashes, and no playback errors. It's nice to finally have a stable listening experience with minimal errors. There's also Spotify connect, although it's not as good as GPM Chromecast it's still good, there is a weird glitch where when I skip forward too fast it will go back a few seconds or just freeze the audio. It's also nice to get all the content I need and want, with GPM I had to search everywhere to get the songs and podcasts I wanted, now with Spotify I cringe when I can't find something because it's all there. Spotify has a great Android App, interface, content, and stability. When you combine them, it makes a compelling argument to switch to Spotify. 

The Bad

For all the things Spotify does right there are still compromises that haven't been fixed. The homepage is one of them, I pay for Spotify premium, which is supposed to mean no ads and unlimited access to content. However, there are still ads, not in the conventional sense but in the sense that anyone can pay Spotify for a front page on every user's homepage. I won't name names, but all Spotify users know my pain, I'm ok with trying new things and I'm not opposed to recommendations, but allowing paid ads disguised as a "recommendation" is theft of joy. A recommendation is something that the algorithm has found and customized for me, not for everyone that has Spotify. We need custom home screens, and I don't think we're going to get that anytime soon, as soon as we do, I'll rethink my stance on the home screen but for now I will continue to oppose it. 

 
 

Something else that's happened is Podcast notifications, it was one of the key features from GPM that I sorely missed and at first, I was excited to finally have the complete package. Then reality set in, it doesn't work. The notifications don't arrive on time and sometimes they don't arrive at all, the notifications usually arrive about 2-3 days late and by then I've already listened to the content. It's basically a broken feature that never worked from the beginning.  

 
 

Another thing is the omission of a dedicated Podcast tab in the Nav bar, 90% of my listening is podcasts. It's annoying to have to go the library tab and then swipe several times to get to my podcasts, it's an inefficient design that really inconveniences users.  

 

Notice how it displays an unordered list

Now while the mobile apps work and look good Spotify on the desktop has one of the worst interfaces and is the worst version of the Spotify client. It's slow regardless of any devices and it constantly stutters and lags, it sheds the ordered podcast list, and it makes it harder to upload and download music. It's not as important as the mobile version of the apps but it's something that really bugs me when I want to listen to something on my laptop. 

Conclusion

Honestly, I'm happy it's worked out so far, in some ways Spotify is an upgrade to GPM and it really enhanced my listening experience. It's a stable, supported, and content-rich platform. In other ways I'm disappointed, and the push and pull balance out when you realize it's the best we have. YouTube Music is a dumpster fire of an app that might have more problems than GPM, it's getting better over time but for now I just can't recommend it. I can however recommend Spotify, over 4 months I learned a lot about this app, and I realized how great it really is, overall Spotify is the best because it's better than the alternatives.

 It's a sad truth that really makes me look at the landscape, with the departure of GPM many lost their way, but Spotify is one of the options that makes sense for converts and newbies alike. I'll always miss GPM but for now, until the landscape improves, Spotify is the best Music service I've ever used. 

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