Sunset of libspotify. Please reconsider.

[stormtroopoa]

Hello Spotify,

yesterday libspotify was shutdown. I noticed that my DIY device has stopped working for my childrens devices. After some digging I came across that post:

https://developer.spotify.com/community/news/2022/04/12/libspotify-sunset

I don't see any real alternative for libspotify to stream content. Just API to control Spotify connect. Do I miss something?

I know libspotify has been deprecated some years ago. Without a real alternative I couldn't replace it though.

I want to stream music and control playback with my RaspberryPi without any other client being connected.

There are many DIY open source solutions out there using (e.g. mopidy).

If there is no real alternative all my work, 1000s of hours spent and those of others be wasted.

Have a heart for developers and reconsider your decision!

PLEEEEEASE.

[ch1512]

Worst feeling ever. All those countless hours wasted and kids are sad. This sucks big time.

[amnipocci]

I went for premium solely for the foo_spotify component so that I can play music with my foobar2000, because I use its global hotkey function all the time. Yes I hate your way to force user to only use your player interface.

[spotifyjosh]

Whoops, I hit the solve button by mistake.

Thanks for understanding, @MaxDurstHansWurst. I am reading all the comments here and I know how frustrating it can be when an API stops working — even one that was deprecated.

@stormtroopoa, you mentioned open source. Is the project that you developed open source?

[paulb39]

@spotifyjosh many projects are dead now. I haven't used it, but a big one is mopidy-spotify
(https://github.com/mopidy/mopidy-spotify/issues/110).

The reason I'm canceling my subscription is I used libspotify so I can play my music with foobar2000 via foo_input_spotify (https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php?topic=113014.0)

The issue isn't the fact you guys shut it down, its the fact you killed a feature without giving us an alternative (WEB SDK is NOT an alternative). You guys should be adding features, not removing them!

[snake019]

ive been using spotify for nearly 6+ years, not counting my old FB account. every year i get closer and closer to switching to a different platform and this might be the final nail in the coffin. if i read another comment from a spotify employee saying  "We know its frustrating apis stop working" im going to lose my mind; spotify planned on sunsetting libspotify and we got a web sdk which isnt an alternative. i really dont have any sympathy for anyone at spotify for why it was deprecated because it should have an actual alternative before killing it off. just wanted to intergrate spotify into a local music server but i guess thats just a pipe dream at this point.

[brett-gardner]

This is exceptionally disappointing. I moved from Amazon music to Spotify specifically because it had an API that I could use via mopidy

Currently, the only way I have to listen to Spotify is through my television, which through another corporate overlord's glorious stupid decision I cannot use without the screen on.

When I have friends over, I want the ability to be playing music - without the distraction of a flickering screen.

I'll be cancelling my spotify subscription if a solution cannot be found.

[kingosticks4]

@spotifyjosh have Spotify cancelled the plans to properly replace libspotify? It's been 5+ years so I assume that's the case but a straight answer is the very least you could do. Please don't tell me the Web API/SDK is a replacement, everyone here knows why that's not true.

There must be another library available that commercial partners are using. Is there a chance to make that available? Could you aggressively rate-limit the music data endpoint and disable offline playback for us? Maybe that would still provide a working solution but make life sufficiently difficult for any bad-actors trying to rip music?

[11155108035]

@spotifyjosh I've all my machines configured with Mopidy-Spotify. This is really sad. I think you have carefully considered the possibilities, and opted to disappoint the DIY community. There's no reason for me to pay for Spotify anymore. I'll migrate my playlists and go somewhere else. That's the advantage of Mopidy: plenty of other plugins out there. I think I'll give Youtube Music a try.

[kevenlefonque]

Sorry, this was the only reason for going premium. Will be cancelling the premium account if not fixed soon!

[0n3man]

I was directed to come here for a solution by spotidy customer support.  I guess there isn't a solution.  Had this great set up with home assistant https://community.home-assistant.io/t/how-to-build-a-whole-house-audio-system/402776/1 ,  down the tube now.  Technical support please work with the mopidy team to get a solution in place.  Don't leave your paying customers out on the street, in the cold, like old trash. 

[kingosticks4]

For the record, we (The Mopidy/pyspotify team), have heard the same as everyone else here. Absolutely nothing. I think it's conversations like this where Spotify's "developer advocat" should be prominently helping, easing the transition and taking on our feedback. Spotify should be interested in more than just boring web apps. They need to keep innovating because right now they are going backwards. I don't want to go off topic but canning Spotify HiFi before it even started is another sad example.

I don't find any of this remotely inspiring. Which I think means you and your colleagues need to take another look, @spotifyjosh.

[cz0]

I do too think of resigning from Spotify subscription. I had premium mainly for libspotify.

[Thalhammer1]

As a side note: There is a working opensource library called librespot and I do intend to port it to C/C++ for everyone using normal languages. If I find time I might even try to wrap the original libspotify api (at least the important bits) to provide a drop in replacement.

[jakedude182]

Considering ditching my premium hmm

[rjoehren]

I also have to join the queue of Spotify users, who are very upset about this decision. I switched from being a long-time Deezer subscriber to Spotify only in February because I also built a phoniebox that uses the mopidy/iris integration to stream from Spotify. My daughter loved it like so many kids here. While making this phoniebox was a lot of fun, it also cost a lot of time and money. As there is a large phoniebox-community, you (Spotify) disappointed many people. I for one will cancel my subscription and go back to Deezer. I would only consider re-subscribing to Spotify if my Phoniebox would work again through Spotify supporting their APIs and libs again.

@spotifyjosh it would have been nice if your comment on accidentally closing this issue and your answer to the pleas here wasn't this disregarding in its undertone.

[wiiwiiw]

Are you ever gonna respond to those comments? We've all build great apps for many users which provided more value from your service and we at least expected not being ignored like this. 

Seriously, what is even the purpose of this forum if almost none of the issues are being addressed by your staff and we have to fight with your API bugs by ourselves

Sorry for my tone but I hate when great platforms are being ruined by poor communication

[PolGZ]

Another premium user here that was paying for this reason. I've been away from my home for the last months, where I have my raspberry running mopidy via libspotify, so I wasn't sure what was happening. But now that I know it is because Spotify is abandoning the support for this feature, I feel really compelled to abandon the service. It's been a long ride, and many wonders came using spotify, and although I've never liked depending too much on a company decision on how my music would be displayed to me and how I could interact with it, I decided to pay thanks to all the use cases libspotify mad possible. I collaborated with open source projects translating their awesome work, and now all is going to trash.

This was a feature that really made this company feel like it accepted the community needs, and understand they can't make it perfectly for everybody. But now, it closes more on itself, imposing on its users how to interact with their music. It's less of a streaming subscription for your music, and more a single close sourced program. And as just that default client, I don't think I like it enough to still be paying!

[danielfurrer]

I was in the process of setting up a raspberry pi based audio player for my son when I discovered this. Super sad. What's the reason? Why is no one responding here?

[paulb39]

They don't care - @spotifyjosh has been replying to other threads but has been ignoring this one. Take a look at this thread for another feature they are removing.  Its like they went into a room and went "how can we get rid of our paying customers?"

@spotifyjosh response in that thread is beyond pathetic too - we know spotify is removing features - not providing WHY you are not providing an alternative is the issue. 

[balthazar-b]

@danielfurrer, have you checked out Raspotify, which uses the well-supported librespot libraries? Works flawlessly in our home environment.

https://github.com/dtcooper/raspotify