Friends Create Tool to Transfer Playlists Between Apple Music and Spotify

Last year, a user experienced the loss of all their playlists when switching from Apple Music to Spotify, highlighting the challenges of transferring playlists between music streaming services. In response to this issue, Apple Music introduced a playlist transfer tool through the Data Transfer Initiative (DTI), a collaboration aimed at enhancing data portability among major tech companies. However, the DTI's limitations led to the recommendation of Soundiiz, a free third-party tool that facilitates playlist transfers across various platforms, including YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal. Soundiiz was developed by two friends who initially created a music transfer feature for personal use. They recognized its potential value for others and decided to make it available to the public. The service gained significant traction after partnering with Tidal in 2015, which sought to ease the transition for users moving from Spotify. This partnership marked a turning point for Soundiiz, leading to increased user adoption and the founders committing to the project full-time. Despite its success, Soundiiz has maintained a focus on affordability and user accessibility. The founders have chosen not to seek outside investments, allowing them to keep prices low and retain control over their service. While the free version of Soundiiz has limitations, such as a cap on longer playlists, it remains a popular choice for users looking to transfer their music collections seamlessly. The founders have never engaged in marketing efforts, relying instead on organic growth through user searches and word-of-mouth. Streaming services are aware of Soundiiz's operations and generally support its existence, although they are unlikely to promote such transfer services extensively.