Following their latest tech update on the 20th of November, Spotify announced that users will soon be able to import their playlists from rival platforms, such as Apple Music and YouTube Music. Using TuneMyMusic, a platform used to transfer playlists between music services, listeners can follow the prompts of connecting their former streaming platform to Spotify. This retaliation follows the August 2025 announcement from Apple, with Apple Music introducing a playlist import feature with the iOS 18.6.2 update. The feature was first introduced to the UK, the US, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, and Brazil, which allowed Apple customers to add songs, albums, and playlists from services like Spotify.
Daniel Ek’s Controversial Investments
It is speculated that Apple’s initial feature came from the growing boycott of Spotify as current CEO Daniel Ek invested €600 million into Helsing, an AI military software startup in June. This is Ek’s second investment fund into Helsing, as he has previously invested €100 million back in 2021 with his firm Prima Materia. Musicians such as Sabres of Paradise, Massive Attack, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have pulled their music from Spotify as a form of protest from Ek’s investments. “We can’t continue to support a platform whose model undervalues artists, underserves listeners, and whose leadership’s financial ties to AI-driven weapon technologies go against everything we believe music should stand for” states Sabres of Paradise on their Instagram.
Future Changes in Spotify
With Ek stepping down as CEO and Co-presidents Alex Norström (Chief Business Officer) and Gustav Söderström (Chief Product and Technology) being announced as the future co-CEOs back on the 30th of September. The position switch will occur on the 1st of January 2026, with Daniel Ek becoming the Executive Chairman of Spotify. The change in roles has been in the works for years, with Norström and Söderström getting promoted in 2023 to expand their power and provide them with leadership experiences.
Along with the CEO change, there was another major announcement. Spotify is prepared to raise the United States subscription price from $11.99 a month to $12.99 in the first quarter of 2026. It will be the first price raise in the US since July 2024. It has increased prices in countries such as the UK, Switzerland, and Australia in the former months, and it is expected that more countries will see an increase as well. Major record labels have been pressuring music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music to increase their fees, arguing that prices have not been accounted for with inflation and audio subscriptions remain cheap compared to video streaming services, such as Netflix and Max.
The new feature of importing playlists from different services is giving Spotify the edge that Apple Music had for months. However, it is not certain that consumers will find it appealing. If other artists continue to boycott Spotify with the actions of the current CEO, and rising subscription prices, it is unknown if this new update will be enough for users to stay on the app.
