You’ve probably been staring at that green icon for years. It’s comfortable. Spotify knows you. It knows that weird phase you had in 2019 where you only listened to lo-fi beats and 90s Midwest emo. But then you bought a pair of AirPods Pro, or maybe you finally got a decent set of wired headphones, and suddenly, everyone is talking about "Lossless" audio. You start wondering if the grass is actually greener—or, well, more colorful—on the other side.
Moving from Spotify to Apple Music isn't just about changing an app. It's a fundamental shift in how you consume media.
Honestly, the transition is kind of a pain in the neck if you don’t have a plan. You can’t just click a "migrate" button in your settings and hope for the best. There is no official bridge between Daniel Ek’s kingdom and Tim Cook’s walled garden. You’re moving house, and you’ve got to pack the boxes yourself.
The Lossless Elephant in the Room
Let’s be real. Most people make the jump because of audio quality. Spotify has been promising "Spotify Hi-Fi" since 2021. We are still waiting. Meanwhile, Apple Music just... did it. They integrated ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) into their entire catalog, ranging from 16-bit/44.1 kHz (CD Quality) up to 24-bit/192 kHz.
Does it matter? To some, yeah. If you’re listening through $20 plastic earbuds on a noisy bus, you won’t notice a thing. But if you have a decent DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) and a pair of Sennheiser HD600s, the difference is startling. It’s the difference between looking at a photo of a forest and actually standing in the trees.
Apple also pushed Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos hard. It’s polarizing. Some purists hate it, thinking it makes tracks sound "hollow" or "artificial." Others love the immersive feeling of a 360-degree soundstage. It's something you have to experience to decide on, but it's a huge factor when considering the move from Spotify to Apple Music.
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Why the Algorithm Might Break Your Heart
Spotify’s "Discover Weekly" is a masterpiece of data engineering. It’s creepy how well it knows you. Apple Music doesn’t work that way. It relies more on human curation and "Editorial Playlists."
When you first switch, Apple Music is going to be stupid. It won’t know you. It might suggest Taylor Swift when you’re a death metal fan just because she’s popular. You have to "train" it. You have to spend weeks hitting the "Love" or "Suggest Less" buttons. It’s a labor-intensive process that most people aren't prepared for. If you expect a perfect mirror of your Spotify taste on day one, you’re going to be disappointed.
How to Actually Move Your Playlists
Since there is no official tool, you have to use third-party services. This is where things get a bit sketchy if you aren't careful. You're giving these apps access to your account tokens.
SongShift is the gold standard for iOS users. It’s polished. It’s relatively fast. You link both accounts, select your playlists, and let it rip. FreeYourMusic is another solid option if you’re on desktop or Android.
But here is the catch: metadata is a mess.
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- Song titles don't always match.
- Remasters cause confusion.
- Regional licensing differences mean a song available on Spotify might be "greyed out" on Apple Music.
You will likely lose about 5% of your library in the move. You’ll have to manually hunt down those rare B-sides or live recordings that the automated tools couldn't identify. It’s a chore. Be ready for it.
The "Library" Philosophy vs. The "Stream" Philosophy
This is the biggest cultural shock.
Spotify is built around the "stream." It’s a giant river of music. You follow artists, you save songs, but everything feels temporary.
Apple Music is built on the old iTunes bones. It’s a Library. When you add an album, it’s like putting a physical CD on a shelf. You can edit the metadata. You can change the genre tags. You can even upload your own MP3s that aren’t on streaming services—like that rare bootleg from a 2004 garage band—and it will sync across all your devices via iCloud Music Library.
For music nerds who want to "own" their collection (even if it's just a digital license), Apple wins. For people who just want to hit play and let the AI take the wheel, Spotify stays king.
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The Financials and Ecosystem Lock-in
If you’re already paying for iCloud storage and Apple TV+, getting the Apple One bundle is a no-brainer. It makes the cost of Spotify to Apple Music essentially zero.
But if you’re a Windows user or an Android devotee, the experience is... let’s say, "less than optimal." The Apple Music app for Android has actually gotten surprisingly good lately—sometimes it even gets features before the iOS version—but the Windows "Preview" app is still a bit of a buggy mess compared to the sleek Spotify desktop client.
Spotify Connect is also a massive feature people forget until it's gone. The ability to use your phone as a remote for your computer or your smart speakers is seamless on Spotify. Apple’s AirPlay is fine, but it’s not the same. It’s a different protocol with different latencies.
Navigating the Social Divide
Spotify is a social network. You see what your friends are listening to in the sidebar. You get "Wrapped" at the end of the year, which has become a literal global holiday for music sharing.
Apple Music has "Replay," but it’s a bit clinical. It doesn't have that same viral energy. If you care about sharing your "top songs" on Instagram and seeing your crush's "Recently Played," leaving Spotify is going to feel lonely.
Actionable Steps for a Painless Switch
If you’ve decided to make the leap, don’t just cancel your Spotify sub immediately. Do it in this order:
- Audit your library: Use a service like Exportify to get a CSV backup of your Spotify data. If the migration fails, you at least have a list of names.
- Pick your tool: Download SongShift (iOS) or Soundiiz (Web). Pay for one month of the "Pro" version to get the high-speed transfer and metadata matching. It’s worth the $5 to save ten hours of manual work.
- The 24-Hour Rule: Run the transfer and wait. Don't touch anything. Let the caches sync.
- Clean up the "Remasters": Go through your most important playlists. Ensure the tool didn't swap a studio version for a live version or a "Greatest Hits" edit.
- Upload the Gaps: For the songs that didn't transfer because they aren't in Apple’s catalog, find the MP3s, drag them into the Apple Music app on a Mac or PC, and let them sync to your cloud library.
- Train the AI: Spend your first three days "Loving" every song you actually like. Don't skip this. If you don't, your "Listen Now" tab will stay useless for months.
The transition from Spotify to Apple Music is a commitment to a different way of listening. It's less about the "feed" and more about the "collection." It’s about higher bitrates and tighter integration with the devices already in your pocket. It’s not perfect, but for those who value audio fidelity over social features, it’s a path worth taking.