Why I Finally Quit Spotify

The other week, I updated the operating system on my Mac laptop after putting the task off for many months. (One intractable flaw of technological devices: they never actually update overnight as promised.) The apps on my computer all upgraded to their latest versions, including Spotify. When I opened it back up, I found a new interface, one that began rolling out to users last year. At first glance, it didn’t look very different, though the usual three windows were more distinct from one another: a library column on the left, a central “home” window in the middle, and a view of whatever music I was currently playing on the right. But in the following days, as I used the updated app, I began to feel as though I were typing on a keyboard in a foreign language. When I tried to pull up Bill Evans Trio albums, for example, I could find only playlists. I saved Charli XCX’s “BRAT” to my library to listen to in full, but then I couldn’t track it down again. When I wanted to view my library as a whole, I couldn’t manage to make it escape the sidebar. As far I can tell, it’s impossible to do so. (The company did not respond to requests for comment for this piece.)