To anyone considering quitting Spotify, but doesn’t know where to start, here’s a short guide based on my own experiences.
A couple of days ago, I hadn’t a clue where to begin or what to do, so hopefully this’ll help anyone in a similar situation.
tl;dr
- Choose your platform
- Transfer your music between the old and new services
- Cancel your Spotify subscription / account
More details are below:
Step 1: What alternatives are there & how do I choose?
To start off, I asked twitter (naturally), and had a look through the replies, and through other conversations. This highlighted a few trends for popular recommendations.
Based on these word-of-mouth recommendations, my preferences were:
- Deezer
- Tidal
- Apple Music
So, I started Googling. I searched for comparisons of the three platforms, and found a few helpful sites from the past year or so, including:
- 9 Best Spotify Alternatives Everyone Should Try (Spinditty – h/t Panti)
- Best music streaming services 2022 (What HiFi)
- Hi-res music streaming services compared (What HiFi)
- Best music streaming service for 2022 (CNET)
- Which is Best: Spotify, Deezer, Tidal or Apple Music? (Gigaclear)
- The best music streaming services 2021 (Tech Advisor)
Choosing a streaming service will be a matter for personal preference but, for me, Deezer pipped it. This was due both to the music catalogue and options and the sound quality, as well as the fact that they are based within the EU so GDPR compliance is (I assume) guaranteed.
Also, with Tidal, the ex-CEO of Twitter has some kind of financial interest in it, so that’s a hard nope from me. And, with Apple, well.. it’s Apple. So, Deezer won the day.
Within a few minutes, I had set up a new account, choosing a payment option that works best for me.
Step 2: How do I transfer my music?
At first, I didn’t realise it was possible to transfer playlists between streaming services, so I imagined a massive pain in the whatsit with this.
However, Deezer offers a music transfer option, through a third party service provider, Tune My Music. I just went directly to the company’s website, and followed the step-by-step instructions on their homepage.
It was really seamless, completed in just a few clicks, and Tune My Music offers free or paid options to transfer music libraries between a wide range of streaming platforms.
Step 3: How do I cancel my Spotify subscription?
Spotify doesn’t allow users to cancel Spotify Premium via their app versions – the option isn’t there. Instead, to cancel Spotify Premium plans:
- Using a web browser, log into spotify.com/account
- In ‘Account Overview,’ go to ‘ Your Plan,’ and click ‘Change Plan’
- Scroll to ‘Cancel Spotify’ (or ‘Available Plans’) and click ‘Cancel Premium’
- Click ‘Yes’ to confirm cancellation
Note: This will only cancel your Premium subscription, switching you to the free version after your next billing date – it won’t delete your Spotify account. This means, in the free version, you will still have access to your playlists and saved music.
Joan O'Connell 