12/04/2025
Okay, so I admit it, I was addicted to Spotify.
The ease and the years and years of curated playlists felt almost like an extension of myself.
At one point, I remember receiving a notification stating that I was in the top 98% of Spotify listeners.
It makes sense given how much I adore music. I listen to it A LOT. And, on the other hand, it’s completely f*cked *because* of how much I adore music.
Day to day, I came to enjoy and rely so heavily on this vast, instant library, that I simply chose to overlook the cold, hard truth that they have been screwing over musicians since its inception.
That should have been enough for me to find another avenue, but…it wasn’t. In time, even darker truths have come to light around where our money and the money stolen from artists has been going. I’m not going to go into that here.
I couldn’t morally give over one more cent to an entity that steals the creative spirit from artists to fund its own agenda while actively supporting death and destruction.
At one point, cancelling felt completely liberating as I could feel the cage — a comfortable, algorithmic silo preventing me from discovering new territories and connecting with artists more directly — start to dissolve. The vastness of it was paralyzing in a way I didn’t realize.
Simultaneously, I didn’t want to lose the hours and years spent pouring into my playlists, some of which I purchased as a DJ (always) and some of which I planned to spend my life listening to. I tried switching to Tidal, but realized mid-way through transferring 100s of outdated playlists, I actually didn’t want another streaming service.
I wanted to start fresh and digest what has already been discovered while continuing to dig deeper through other avenues.
At times, I miss the ease of my old music ways, the muscle memory and habit is strong. But it feels like a new frontier and moral imperative to be in full integrity with something I love on such a deep, soul-level. In the end, if we only get to vote with our dollars, I finally cast mine, despite the inconvenience, and that alone brings me a little glimmer of peace. ✨
And that’s a WRAP, Spotify. 🚫