Finally, Apple Music might be making it easier to leave Spotify – with your playlists

The Apple Music app icon against a red background on an iPhone.

(Image credit: Brett Jordan / Unsplash)

We've been voicing strong opinions on why you should switch from Spotify to Apple Music (or even drop Spotify for Tidal if you're a dedicated music fan) for some time now, but the crux of the argument is this: the music is better quality for the same money – and by that we mean higher resolution, so you're getting more detail in the streamed file – if it comes from Apple Music.

True, offerings from the Cupertino giant such as Apple Music Sing struggled to compete with the sociable and AI-enhanced output from Spotify (see AI DJ and the bizarrely titled playlists you can get in Daylist) but let's face it, Spotify HiFi is probably never coming. It's been over two years since that carrot was dangled and people want to move on.

The one thing holding you back from taking that leap? Spotify is your OG – it got you first and you're intrinsically tied to all those playlists created over the past 15 years. Spotify will not happily release 'em if you go and Apple Music won't just natively carry them over, which means either a) doing it manually, or b) hunting for a third-party service such as Soundiiz, Tune My Music or SongShift to do the job – to a degree.

But all that might be about to change, because Redditors have spotted Apple Music Android beta testing integration with the service SongShift, for transferring music from other services into Apple Music. According to the user reports, the feature is currently being A/B tested in the latest beta version of Apple Music on Android.

Time to dump Spotify?

SongShift itself isn't new – it has been available for years and lets users move their music libraries and playlists between the best music streaming services. What's novel here is that Apple appears to be testing native integration with SongShift. So, if the feature makes it to market, you wouldn't have to download it and then log in to your various music streaming subscriptions through the SongShift app to start transferring playlists.

And wouldn't that make finally dumping Spotify (along with the streaming behemoth's more AI, less HiFi approach) much easier?

According to the Reddit thread, there's now a prompt in the Apple Music for Android beta that asks users if they'd like to "add saved music and playlists you made in other music services to your Apple Music library" as well as a new option for doing it through Apple Music’s settings on Android.

Apple Music’s integration with SongShift seems to only be showing up for some people using the Apple Music for Android beta. Nevertheless, its very existence is proof that Apple Music gets it – it knows you want to jump ship. And I think it might be time.

Becky is a senior staff writer at TechRadar (which she has been assured refers to expertise rather than age) focusing on all things audio. Before joining the team, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.