[bede]

As a scientist working in public health, this decision burned my faith in Spotify. They were taking down conspiracy theory podcasts daily while bankrolling Rogan to provide a platform with insane reach for cranks like Robert Malone. I cancelled my subscription for a few months in protest.

[massysett]

"for a few months" - so you went back. Honest question - what is Spotify doing so well that you went back rather than just sticking with, say, Apple Music?

[bede]

Depth and breadth of electronic music catalogue and switching cost. Former is probably narrowing rapidly. What would you recommend? Building Apple's future streaming monopoly isn't particularly appealing. Small perhaps, but pausing a sub with explanation sends a clear signal.

[massysett]

I use a lot of Apple devices and I’m not picky, so Apple Music works well for me. I highly doubt Apple will get a monopoly since Google is also in this space with YouTube Music, so there’s another option for you.

A lot of the smaller players have dropped out of this space, which might be a hint as to why Spotify is leaning in to the podcasts: maybe it’s hard to be independent here with Amazon, Apple, and Google being willing to not make much money on this as they build their moats.

[bede]

Thanks!

[starcraft2wol]

I feel a lot of my faith in public health scientists was also burned.

[bede]

I also lost faith in certain scientists (and many more politicians) during the pandemic. But be wary of generalising about a such a large and interdisciplinary group of people. Voices amplified by the media (indeed like Robert Malone on Rogan's podcast) often grossly misrepresent scientific consensus.

[coldpie]

> for a few months

Heh. There's a zillion perfectly good competitors in this space. Why not just permanently switch to one that doesn't fund conspiracy theory wackos?

[bede]

Not absolute, but pausing a sub with an explanation sends an immediate message. Which services would you recommend? I'm mostly after a broad and fresh electronic music catalogue.

[coldpie]

I use DI.fm (lots of fresh electronic music there!) and Google Music via my YouTube subscription.

[bede]

Thanks for the recommendation

[slig]

> I cancelled my subscription for a few months in protest.

Good for you, I'm sure that made a huge impact.