Key Takeaways
- Music streaming apps aren’t overly expensive, but their price increases have been frustrating recently.
- Some aspects of music streaming apps, like in-app videos and friend activity, could be removed to make them cheaper while the company still profits.
- Simplifying the user experience across streaming apps could also result in happier customers.
It’s not surprising that music streaming services are getting expensive; businesses do need to make money. However, platforms wouldn’t need to charge as much if they removed some unnecessary features. Let’s discuss what they are.
1On-Screen Elements That Distract Users
One of the main reasons I switched from Spotify to Apple Music earlier this year was because I got fed up with having so many on-screen elements. Other users have said that several features are turning Spotify into a social media platform, and if it wasn’t for an issue I had with Apple Music not working when connected to Wi-Fi, I wouldn’t have returned to Spotify.
In my opinion, the best apps are simple and don’t have many distractions. It’s annoying when you just want to listen to music but get effectively pulled into the same time of fighting for attention that exists on social platforms. If streaming platforms removed some of the “friends” features and in-app recommendations, I don’t think many people would miss them.
2In-App Videos
I might be a purist, but I don’t feel like in-app videos add much to the overall listening experience. You could perhaps say that YouTube Music is one exception, but I don’t think that any other app needs it (at least for music).
This feature can certainly be useful for podcasts, but short-form loop videos don’t add much to the user experience. It’s actually nice sometimes to listen to playlists while offline so that you can’t see any of these. If music streaming services didn’t remove them altogether, having a separate tier that’s less expensive might be something that others are interested in.
3Friend Activity
Spotify Wrapped and its equivalents are cool features, but a lot of other friend activity feels a bit gimmicky. Personally, I pay very little attention to what others are listening to—and it’s actually nice to use tools that don’t have many of these features.
Music streaming apps should definitely experiment, here, but they could probably make their services less pricey if they removed some of the features that add little value.
While music streaming services aren’t overly expensive in the grand scheme of things, they could potentially lower their prices by removing various features that are largely unnecessary. Streamlining their apps would also improve the user experience, leading to happier customers. It’s unlikely to happen, but one can hope nonetheless.
