Apple has taken a significant step in escalating competition against its biggest rival in the music streaming market, Spotify, and making life easier for users. The company has launched a new tool globally that allows users to easily transfer their music libraries and carefully curated playlists from Spotify, YouTube Music, and other platforms to Apple Music. This move aims to eliminate one of the biggest obstacles to switching between platforms.
The biggest obstacle in the Spotify vs. Apple Music debate is being removed
The personal playlists and archives that music lovers have built over the years were often seen as the biggest technical and psychological obstacle to switching to a different service. No one wanted to lose years of experience. Apple has addressed this issue with its integration with the third-party service SongShift, making the transition process extremely simple for potential new subscribers. This feature allows Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, Tidal, and Amazon Music users to try Apple Music without fear of losing their music history.
The new import feature is available not only on iPhone and iPad, but also in the Apple Music app and web version on Android devices. This demonstrates that Apple is opening its doors not only to users within its own ecosystem, but to all potential customers. Users can easily initiate the process by selecting “Import Music from Other Music Services” in the app settings.
- How to transfer Spotify playlists to Apple Music?
- Go to Music Settings:
- On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Apps > Music.
- Open the Apple Music app on your Android device, tap the More button, and then tap Settings.
- Tap “Import Music from Other Music Services.”
- Select from the list of supported music services. Then sign in to the music service.
- Select what you want to transfer.
- Tap “Add to Library.”
- Wait for Apple Music to find songs in the Apple Music catalog that match your music. Once this process is complete, you’ll see one of the following messages:
- Transfer Complete: Apple Music found songs that match the music in the Apple Music catalog and added it to your library.
- Some Music Needs Review: Apple Music didn’t find an exact match for the music, but it did find similar alternative versions. Tap Review Now, select an alternative version, and then tap Save to add the music to your library.
However, Apple warns users that the process isn’t always seamless. If the system can’t find an exact match for a song in the Apple Music catalog, it can flag it and suggest an alternative version.
It also notes that the transfer only applies to user-created playlists, excluding custom playlists curated by services (such as Spotify’s Weekly Discovery playlist). Importantly, the transfer process doesn’t damage your library or playlists on the original platform; your data is protected, just as it was on the source service.
This new tool stands out as a strategic move that increases user freedom and further intensifies competition in the music streaming wars. Music lovers now have more freedom to move between services, significantly strengthening Apple’s position to steal market share from its biggest rival.
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