so I switched from Spotify to Qobuz! If you're wanting to switch from Spotify but having trouble because ALL music streaming sites seem evil, I really do recommend Qobuz. I think that you'll ESPECIALLY like Qobuz if you have unusual musical tastes, hate algorithms, or despise ads. If it's really important to you that your music streaming app be social, that's the one thing Qobuz isn't replicating. One of the other big downsides is that if you're a free Spotify user, I don't think Qobuz has a free streaming plan. But if you want to kick Spotify for political or artist support reasons, Qobuz is THE pick. Full review below and I also recommend this review of Qobuz.
First off, my transition was really easy. Transferring my playlists and favorite songs through Soundiiz was painless. I encountered one weird error that was obvious and very easy to fix; my husband had no errors. The only actual issue I'm having with Qobuz is that it's not connecting to my bluetooth speakers at home, but my husband isn't having this problem connecting Qobuz to the same speakers.
Qobuz doesn't have stats in-app or strong in-app connectivity with last.fm, but I downloaded panoscrobbles and I'm getting stats that way. (I'm not CERTAIN panoscrobbles is necessary; I haven't tried "scrobbling" without it). I like that last.fm, but I'm hoping that if Qobuz gains steam, things like last.fm integration or more focus on stats will become available.
The other downside is that the app is a little clunky. The web interface is better. If you're a big app design person, I think this will disappoint you, although I kind of think this is kind of the charm of Qobuz. This is for people who don't like the modern internet and want to roll back the clock a little.
Related to that, one of the BEST features is that it's not algorithmic. It's curated based on what the Qobuz editors like, and it's clear that they love music. So, yes, it's very Boomer or Gen X coded, but I don't care because I'm so thrilled to not constantly have dumbass shit I don't want funneled into my feed. I'm unlikely to take Qobuz's suggestions, but I like that they're crafted by people who love music and not people who want to exploit my interests for cash. There IS a for you page, but it's inobtrusive and honestly not very robust.
Qobuz is really clearly about the music, not advertising. It puts audio quality in the forefront. (I think in my car I don't notice the audio quality difference, but in my headphones I do.) The Qobuz website also makes it easy to buy music to directly support the artists you love. Their magazine is full of articles about supporting artists and rejecting AI. Switching from Spotify to Qobuz feels like ditching Walmart for the local record store. Maybe I don't have the same tastes as the owners, but it feels good to be there.
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