Big tech is thriving despite the layoffs::undefined

  • 0xD
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    10 months ago

    Can I ask you why Spotify has this braindead handling of downloaded songs where it still tries to fucking stream them? This goes on my nerves so incredibly much that I’m thinking about quitting my subscription because it’s so fucking stupid.

    I’ve downloaded it, Spotify. No you don’t have to fucking stream it when I have a bad network connection so the fucking downloaded song constantly cuts off or doesn’t even load!!!

    • tinsukE@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      On handling downloaded songs and offline playback, my personal (but informed) opinion is that there is:

      • some licensing reasons for it to be more complicated than strictly necessary
      • lack of interest of supporting an app feature that doesn’t drive numbers immediately up (sure, I agree that a better offline experience would improve the product and help user retention, but it isn’t easy/quick to measure its impact), and
      • lack of ownership with many teams having to support a functionality (keep the app working offline) within all the various app features they own.

      So, just as a dog with multiple owners, it goes neglected and starves.

      • 0xD
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        10 months ago

        Ah, yeah, same stuff as always. Management.

        The licensing part I did think about, but the songs are in a proprietary format anyway (I think?) and any keys or whatever can be refreshed without streaming the entire song over a slow connection.

        Thank you for your detailed answer!