Why I'm sticking with Spotify despite the price hike

Spotify has recently increased its prices to match its rivals, and it still hasn't delivered the lossless audio tier (also known as Spotify Hi-Fi) it has promised, so why can't I stop listening? In all honesty, I should be first in line to sign up for Apple Music and Tidal (and I was considering them) but I just can't stop pressing on the green blob. 

I'm not the only one, even in the face of stiff competition, Spotify has over 550 million users worldwide, making it the biggest audio streaming service. But why do I stick around? 

The answer, like most things in life, can be explained by Taylor Swift. Her music is of course available on other platforms but recently Spotify launched a feature that told users which 'era' they were in (AKA which of her albums they listen to most). It was presented in a really slick way that was immediately shareable and comparable to friends, and it just arrived unannounced. 

With pretty much all of my friends using Spotify as well, features like this and the annual Spotify Wrapped are great fun. See also the ability to create 'blended' playlists with friends, giving you a score on how similar your musical tastes are and changing its song selection each day. I've even started using the AI DJ despite initial hesitancy.

With Spotify Premium you can download songs to listen to offline (as you can on other services), and I currently have 3773 songs downloaded, stemming back to 2015. If I was to switch streamer then I'd have to find them all over again. Similarly, all of my playlists that everybody loves (yes I'm that guy at the party sorry) are saved to my account. How am I meant to remember my 2016 indie phase all over again? There's no one else in the world with a Spotify account exactly the same as mine. It's like having my own digital record collection. 

It may feel like Stockholm syndrome but I'm pretty much locked into Spotify at this point in time and unless they really make some big mistakes, I'm unlikely to take my ears elsewhere. If I was new to the streaming game or had fewer songs, I'd definitely be looking to change the record, but as it stands I've still got Spotify on repeat.