Audiobooks on Spotify • Hacker News Board

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#21

Post by KptMarchewa » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 4:45 PM UTC

JadoJodo wrote: post #2

Does anyone else take issue with Spotify branching out into other arenas (e.g., Podcasts, TV, Audiobooks, etc.)? I'm honestly kinda tired of all of these services trying to gobble up any slightly related industry. I subscribe to Spotify to listen to music, not podcasts. My podcasts arrive using a different app with the backing of the RSS standard, not Spotify's internal standard. I don't want to get a subscription co…

ATM I use podcasts more time than music, and I like their implementation fairly.

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#22

Post by pwinnski » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 4:48 PM UTC

Oh, look, a huge company that pays artists a pittance[0] is pretending to be on the side of the artists (writers in this case) in their fight against mean old Apple. Is this like when they complained about Apple not letting them do Siri, but then never implemented Siri support? Or maybe it's like when they complained about Apple not letting them make a watch app, when the APIs were already available?

Nah, it's about Spotify wanting more money, and trying to pretend it's David vs Goliath it's not.

0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k9-UIg52xg

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#23

Post by mostlysimilar » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 4:52 PM UTC

No other company do I hate and love so much. I love their discovery algorithms and find new music through them so often. I look forward to my new Discover Weekly every Monday.

But in every other way they drive me crazy. The UI is terrible and basic but I've learned to live with it. What I absolutely can't stand is inserting podcasts and audio books into the app with no option to opt-out.

I get that they want to put these things in front of as many people as possible, but it's a shame that happens at the expense of those of us who don't want that cluttering up their libraries. Let me turn it off. Why can't I turn it off?

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#24

Post by collegeburner » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 4:55 PM UTC

JadoJodo wrote: post #2

Does anyone else take issue with Spotify branching out into other arenas (e.g., Podcasts, TV, Audiobooks, etc.)? I'm honestly kinda tired of all of these services trying to gobble up any slightly related industry. I subscribe to Spotify to listen to music, not podcasts. My podcasts arrive using a different app with the backing of the RSS standard, not Spotify's internal standard. I don't want to get a subscription co…

i mean there's not actually that much $ in a commodified streaming service. royalties eat most of it and artists still aren't paid that much. so branching out is spotify's only hope of finding a high-margin area of business.

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#25

Post by bgentry » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 4:56 PM UTC

galoisscobi wrote: post #6

Last time they complained about Apple not supporting Siri integration. Then when Apple added support for that, Spotify never added HomePod Siri support. The idea has ~5k votes and 137 pages of comments on their forum and yet no action from Spotify. https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/iOS-Implement-Na...

Spotify also still doesn't support AirPlay 2, nearly 4.5 years after it was launched: https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/25/spotify-still-doesnt-su...

I really don't want to switch to Apple Music (it's not a great app either) but I'm really tired of dealing with playback issues due to the lack of buffered AirPlay 2 playback. If you try out a proper AirPlay 2 supporting app like Overcast or Apple Music, it's a dramatically better experience.

I also want nothing to do with Spotify's podcasts or audio books. And their macOS Chromium desktop app has also languished for years.

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#26

Post by crazygringo » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 4:57 PM UTC

JadoJodo wrote: post #2

Does anyone else take issue with Spotify branching out into other arenas (e.g., Podcasts, TV, Audiobooks, etc.)? I'm honestly kinda tired of all of these services trying to gobble up any slightly related industry. I subscribe to Spotify to listen to music, not podcasts. My podcasts arrive using a different app with the backing of the RSS standard, not Spotify's internal standard. I don't want to get a subscription co…

I have no issue with it business-wise -- if they don't, they'll eventually die because a podcast/audiobook app expands into music.

I just have a major issue with it UX-wise. I wish podcasts and audiobooks were their own separate apps. I've totally given up even trying to understand Spotify's UX anymore. I always eventually manage to play what I want through some combo of scroll/filter/search/history but I just feel like I never know what's going to appear anywhere this time.

And as long as I'm wishing... how about an app just for classical music too! Composer+performer just can't be satisfactorily shoehorned into a single "artist" field no matter how hard you try. Same as tracks aren't works -- a symphony might be anywhere from 3 to 40 tracks. (Keep classical music accessible in the main app for casual listeners, and because the line between classical and pop is blurry in some cases -- but just add a dedicated app designed for classical alone.)

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#27

Post by iamacyborg » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 4:58 PM UTC

JadoJodo wrote: post #2

Does anyone else take issue with Spotify branching out into other arenas (e.g., Podcasts, TV, Audiobooks, etc.)? I'm honestly kinda tired of all of these services trying to gobble up any slightly related industry. I subscribe to Spotify to listen to music, not podcasts. My podcasts arrive using a different app with the backing of the RSS standard, not Spotify's internal standard. I don't want to get a subscription co…

> I subscribe to Spotify to listen to music, not podcasts.

Yep, and I really wish they'd stop promoting absolute turds like Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson at me. I have no interest in listening to them.

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#28

Post by prepend » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 5:00 PM UTC

Do you know what I hate? Spotify having my credit card.

There’s a very low chance I ever buy an audiobook if they integrate with apple’s purchase flow. There’s a zero chance if they had their own flow that pops up and asks me for a credit card. And a separate system to update numbers, cancel stuff, etc etc

I get that Spotify wants more money. I’m sure publishers hated selling audiobooks to Barnes & Noble and them taking 50% of the retail price.

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#29

Post by prepend » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 5:02 PM UTC

willhinsa wrote: post #16

krono wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those podcast recommendations (i.e. advertisements) that appear as image tiles in their apps are annoying but avoidable. Recently they have started inserting random podcast episodes into my "Release Radar" playlists. Not happy with this development to put it lightly.

Ugh. How do these companies so thoroughly not understand their own raison d'être?

They understand that they make more money this way even if it pisses off customers.

They’ve calculated that the customers who drop because of it is outweighed by the higher profits from playing podcasts.

Re: Audiobooks on Spotify

#30

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 27, 2022, 5:04 PM UTC

JadoJodo wrote: post #2

Does anyone else take issue with Spotify branching out into other arenas (e.g., Podcasts, TV, Audiobooks, etc.)? I'm honestly kinda tired of all of these services trying to gobble up any slightly related industry. I subscribe to Spotify to listen to music, not podcasts. My podcasts arrive using a different app with the backing of the RSS standard, not Spotify's internal standard. I don't want to get a subscription co…

[deleted]