[hannasanarion]

That's the point, you don't have to. The spotify software synchronizes your personal collection between all your devices and uses it to fill holes in their catalog.

Afraid that an artist is going to pull their stuff from spotify? Acquire digital copies of that artist's work some other way, and spotify will slot them right into your playlists where the old ones used to be. I did this when SPV Records pulled Silverthorn, it was practically no work.

Even if the whole industry abandons spotify, it will still be unique and valuable as a seamless way to synchronize your music library between all devices.

[vinceguidry]

If the industry abandons Spotify, and my entire music life was wrapped up in it, then I need to acquire 600+ individual music tracks from 400+ artists, if I hadn't already done it already, all to continue listening to music the same way I do now. The problem gets worse the longer I remain on the platform. And that assumes I'll be able to get my data, about which tracks I need to acquire, out when the time comes. If not then I'm really up Shit's Creek without a paddle.

I'd rather pay more in the short term, paying for individual tracks, for a solution that will work indefinitely, than set up a situation in which extreme disruption of a part of my life I'm utterly reliant on can be afflicted at a whim of a dipshit music exec who doesn't understand how people can become reliant on music or worse, understands and does it anyway because it'll make him more money.

[hannasanarion]

So you're saying, you're afraid of being reduced to small personal catalog in an unlikely future apocalypse scenario, and you are solving this problem by forcing yourself to use a small personal catalog today?

[vinceguidry]

I wouldn't call it unlikely. Music services have a history of getting shut down. Sure, Spotify's star is bright now. But it could get acquired tomorrow by a company that decides it doesn't want to support all my use cases. If one of those use cases is something I'm reliant on, then Spotify all of a sudden becomes totally worthless.

Whereas my personal catalog will never stop supporting my use cases.

[hannasanarion]

What music services have a history of getting shut down after 11 years of profitability and complete cultural and market dominance? Spotify is hardly comparable to Zune or whatever.

It's totally your prerogative to not use spotify or other music streaming services, I'm just saying fear of imminent market apocalypse isn't really a good reason to deny all of the upsides.

[vinceguidry]

Cultural and market dominance? Where can I get some of that Kool-aid? Spotify is certainly more successful than many of the alternatives, but it's a crowded space. Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Pandora, Bandcamp and 8Tracks are just the ones I've heard of. Any one of these, including Spotify, is subject to acquisition, spinning out, or outright shutdown at the whims of the music industry. Any of these events can change the service such that it's practically useless.

The ones already shut down or folded into different companies with different priorities include Rhapsody, Beatport, Rdio, Last.fm's streaming offering, and the aforementioned Zune. Forgive me if I'm a little cautious and not willing to depend on the magic of "the market," cue jazz hands, to ensure access to my music, especially when I have a solution that's already working that isn't subject to those risks.