It was probably the ninth time Sabrina Carpenter’s hit single “Please, Please, Please” played unprompted when I decided it was time to quit Spotify. I’d been a Premium subscriber since the company started offering it in the U.S. in 2011, and I’ve generally been a Spotify fanatic who obsessively cultivates her playlist collection. But please, I can’t take it anymore.
Spotify raised its prices in July for the second time in two years. And while that price increase is part of the reason I stopped using Spotify, it’s not the whole story. Basically, Spotify started to annoy me. I was annoyed by concert ads that would pop up without warning, and I couldn’t find a way to turn them off. The app also didn’t work as well as it used to. It would sometimes freeze, I had trouble playing music through my headphones, and it almost never connected to my Sonos speakers when I wanted it to. These are small complaints, but they add up, especially when you’re paying money for a service. And Spotify wants you to pay even more!
So I set out to purchase a new music streaming service, which sent me into a tailspin as I tried to understand the state of the streaming entertainment industry at large. If I knew a little bit about the motivations of these companies, I figured I could make better decisions and maybe even save some money. I ended up spending more money, but I also get more than just music out of my new subscription.
You see, I fell into the bundling trap. After I quit Spotify, I subscribed to Apple One, a package that includes several Apple services, like Music and iCloud storage. I ended up giving Apple the money I’d stopped spending on Spotify and then some. And I got some services I didn’t really want (I’m looking at you, Apple Arcade), though I might want them in the future.
Subscribing to bundles is what almost every streaming entertainment company wants you to do. That doesn’t mean the bundles have to be bad. The ever-changing bundle offerings from media companies, phone companies, and tech companies can be confusing, and a bundle of subscriptions can cost more than you’re already paying. If you’re willing to be flexible, though, you can make bundles work in your favor. In other words, you fall into the bundle trap, but you come out of it better off.
Bundling isn’t a new strategy. That’s how cable TV worked decades ago: You paid a flat fee for a cable service that included a bunch of channels you didn’t want. In the streaming era, bundling often means you get access to multiple streaming services for one price — though you can also get access to services beyond TV, like music and games.
There are a few ways to fall into the bundle trap. Like me, you might want a service, like Apple Music, and choose the bundle because it’s not that much more expensive. You might also want to sign up for Hulu to watch the latest season of The Bear. But when you can also get access to Disney+ and Max for a few dollars more, why not give it a try? You can always cancel in a month.
“There’s a constant tug-of-war with the public,” Anthony Palomba, an adjunct professor of business administration at the University of Virginia, told me. “They’ve given people too much content.”
Again, this isn’t new. What is new this year is that the bundles are getting bigger and more confusing. In 2019, for example, you could pay $13 for a bundle that included Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu, all ad-free. Makes sense, since all three services are owned by Disney. This spring, however, major media companies began offering bundles that include services outside of their own properties. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery will soon offer a bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and Max, though they haven’t announced a price. Verizon is already offering customers a bundle with ad-supported versions of Netflix and Max for $10. And don’t forget about StreamSaver, a bundle for Comcast internet customers that includes Peacock, Netflix (with ads), and Apple+ for just $15 a month.
Is your head spinning yet?
Here’s the plan. In recent years, media companies have faced a reckoning: They realized they could no longer spend millions to win new streaming subscribers as legacy brands like Disney tried to catch up with Netflix. These new streaming services needed to start making money. On top of that, they have a loyalty problem: Many people subscribe to a service, likely to watch a hit show, and then cancel a month later. I did this with Succession on HBO Max (RIP), for example, and you’ve probably done it with your favorite show, too. (Pro tip: If you do this, don’t forget to cancel.) Churn rates at major streaming services have more than doubled over the past five years, according to research firm Antenna. But when bundles are involved, multiple research firms say customers tend to stick around. So, confusing or not, bundles are back.
If you’re nervous (like me) about switching music services because you’ll lose all of your carefully curated playlists, fear not. When I made the switch, I was surprised to learn how many services do it for you. I used an app called Playlisty that made it easy to import dozens of playlists from my Spotify account to Apple Music for a one-time fee of $3. The only thing I really miss are the personalized recommendations that Spotify’s algorithm spent years perfecting. But I’m sure Apple’s algorithm will surprise and occasionally delight me, too.
I realize we’ve gotten pretty far off my complaints about Spotify, but the chaos in the world of video streaming bundles has spilled over into the world of audio. Since all the music streaming services offer the same catalog of songs, each has to find a way to stand out, and that often means access to other features or services. In the case of Apple Music, which is included in Apple One, that’s generally been its lossless audio offering and its interoperability with Apple devices. YouTube Music lets you watch a song’s music video with a single tap, and it comes free with YouTube Premium. Amazon Music is essentially a perk you get with Prime membership.
“Spotify is competing with companies that never need to make a dollar from the music or streaming businesses,” said Larry Miller, director of the music business program at NYU Steinhardt. “They use music as a tool to attract users to their ecosystems.”
In other words, streaming music services are lumping together — except for Spotify. Spotify started offering an audiobook service to its Premium members late last year (songwriters have complained that they get paid less as a result). But don’t expect Spotify to launch a Netflix competitor anytime soon. Paying $12 a month for music alone seems like a different proposition in 2024 than it did a decade ago. Why stop at music when I know I’ll someday want to watch TV, play video games, and even enjoy some celebrity-narrated fitness classes? Much to my surprise, thanks to Apple Fitness+, I love taking Dolly Parton-narrated walks.
For me, when Spotify screwed me over, Apple Music was the obvious choice. The audio quality is definitely better than Spotify, and the app crashes less often. The fact that I could bundle Apple Music with other Apple services I was already using, especially iCloud storage, sealed the deal. And after spending a couple of weeks with my new bundle, I feel good about it. I even cancelled Max, since I got a video streaming service in Apple TV+. Time will tell if all of this catches my attention, and if not, I can always try something different or even go back to Spotify. Remember that the service you subscribe to today won’t be the same in a month or a year, given how quickly the industry changes. You can always cancel and choose a different path.
All of this means that there’s no better time to be an assertive consumer when it comes to spending money on music, TV shows, and movies. When you feel like the services you’ve been using aren’t doing the trick anymore, there’s no harm in canceling the subscription and spending your money on something else. You’ll probably even get a free trial.
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