Of all of the best music streaming services, Spotify is the one one that gives perception into its payouts by its annual Loud and Clear report, and in 2025 it paid out a record $11 billion back to the industry.
That’s round 70% of Spotify’s annual income, leaving the remaining to return in direction of enhancing the Spotify expertise. There’s no denying that Spotify is at all times searching for methods to enhance music discovery and welcome new personalization instruments, however for me there are different areas that want prioritizing.
On the finish of the day, Spotify is producing extra annual income than it has in earlier years, leaving the corporate with extra leftover funds to take a position – not solely within the enterprise itself – but additionally in exterior areas, the place it has an obligation to supply help. In spite of everything, it’s the main music streaming platform on the market, so it needs to be setting an instance.
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Declutter its interface
That is one in all my largest dislikes with the platform, and it’s a shared feeling amongst numerous different subscribers too. Not like companies akin to Apple Music, which focuses on simplicity, Spotify’s interface is far and wide. That is very true of its Library tab, which appears to get messier every time I make a brand new playlist, save a brand new album, or comply with an artist.
Although you’ll be able to filter your Library by playlist, album, and artist, it’s fairly fiddly and never the prettiest to take a look at, whereas Apple Music’s Library feels so much cleaner. And though Spotify is the winner in terms of options – for example, there are six other ways to make a playlist – many of those will go unused by the typical consumer. Transferring ahead, Spotify ought to assume twice about investing in a brand new product characteristic if it doesn’t add worth to the general consumer expertise – maintaining issues easy goes a great distance.
Roll out labels for music that is utterly AI-generated
The criticisms in direction of Spotify’s tolerance for totally AI-generated music won’t ever die – that’s until it begins being extra clear with customers. AI tags are the subsequent step.
Its rivals are already beginning to deal with this, for example, Deezer has developed its own AI-detection tool and Apple is testing ‘Transparency Tags’. The talk round ‘what constitutes AI-generated music’ remains to be a scorching matter with Spotify. Evidently the platform is uncertain whether or not to flag songs the place solely a tiny element is AI-generated. However whereas many customers can admire that, it is the slew of songs which are utterly made utilizing AI that will get below their pores and skin, greater than something.
Make investments straight into grassroots venues
In Spotify’s Loud and Clear report, the platform shared that it drove $1.5 billion in live performance ticket income, due to its integration of dwell occasion listings that take you straight to the ticket gross sales websites. For one, it’s a useful method to unfold the phrase about artists touring your space and get extra music followers to attend gigs in grassroots venues. However Spotify has greater than sufficient earnings to take a position straight in these areas.
That’s to not say Spotify hasn’t contributed. Again in 2024, Spotify partnered with a UK-based group Youth Music to arrange a fund to help 15 grassroots venues going through closure. The partnership was an extension of Spotify’s Creator Fairness Fund Program, and has prolonged its dedication to serving to grassroots into 2026.
Although Spotify has these initiatives in place, the platform has confronted criticisms from organizations akin to Music Venue Belief (MVT) for indirectly investing in these venues. In 2022 Spotify got here below fireplace for its staggering $235 million take care of FC Barcelona, with MVT arguing that such funds may’ve been used to forestall the closure of a whole lot of music venues. Spotify’s intentions with Youth Music are seemingly in the correct place, however it positively must rethink its funding approaches.
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