One year with Deezer

It’s been about one year since I switched to Deezer. Yes, I switched before Spotify became uncool! 😁 So, how happy am I with Deezer today?

What I like most about Deezer is that Deezer strictly separates music and podcasts. When I want to listen to music, podcasts aren’t constantly suggested to me prominently on the front page. If I deliberately want to listen to podcasts, then there is an extra section for that, which is then full of podcasts. Spotify is probably pushing this tactic to save money, they probably have little to no money to pay for podcasts. While each music stream may only cost a fraction of a cent, it’s still more than for a podcast stream.

While I definitely listened to some audiobooks at the beginning of my Deezer usage, or at least started doing so, that has since decreased significantly. Now I sometimes listen to them with my girlfriend to fall asleep or when I go for a walk. But the good thing about audiobooks on Deezer: there is an extra app just for audiobooks. Audiobooks are also well separated from music. And this app offers a few extra features: for example, it’s possible to listen to audiobooks at a higher speed.

What also turned out to be very useful is Deezer’s web app: in this one you can listen to music in the highest quality and it runs smoothly. I’m often on the PC, and when I’m on the PC, I also prefer to listen to music via the PC, since it’s easier to pause the music when I want to watch a video, for example. But the Android app works well, too. It’s simple in design, still looks like it did a year ago, and runs absolutely smoothly.

Deezer’s algorithms and discovery features are pretty decent. In the Flow, the same music is often suggested to me, though, because I probably mark too little music with a heart. But since a while there is also the option in Flow to choose between different moods. And Flow is not the only infinite personalized playlist. There are several other “Daily” playlists with artists you listen to often. But I also like the non-personalized playlists. I actually always find something suitable for my mood when I go for a walk, but also when I work out a bit on my rowing machine in the morning. The playlists are also well sorted and seem like the authors really put them together carefully too, nothing machine made.

Sometimes when I don’t feel like picking out any music I just listen to the radio, that works with Deezer too.

After the recent Spotify scandal, I definitely considered whether a streaming service was really worth it for me. I’m not an audiophile, I don’t have any particular taste in music, and I don’t have any other high standards. The reason why I will continue to use a streaming service, however, is that it would simply be too much work for me to always pick out music that I then buy or otherwise obtain. And then there’s the technical question as well: How do I access my music from everywhere? It’s all too complicated for me, and I only listen to music sometimes anyway.

Overall, Deezer fulfills all my wishes, so I will continue to use Deezer.

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