Art by Vivian Hsia
When I was 11, I got an iPod Touch for my birthday.
Back then — when the YouTube logo looked like a boxed TV from the 1960s — one of my favorite moments was redeeming an iTunes gift card, just so that I can purchase a ninja theme on Doodle Jump.
Another one of my fond — and somewhat thrilling — moments was transferring illegally downloaded audio files from YouTube to the iTunes app.
As an elementary school kid with no financial ability or stability, these moments were monumental.
Fast forward seven years, my first time walking into Payson Library was a cultural reset.
Phones, tablets, laptops and watches — all shining with the same simplistic logo. This was the very moment Pepperdine’s exclusive use of Apple products intrigued me.
And so when I committed to Pepperdine, I, too, was proud to be a member of the Apple ecosystem. After all, it’s the aesthetic I grew up with. I felt right at home — until my friend asked me to follow her on Spotify.
Spotify and Apple Music are the two largest music streaming services on the market, with Spotify dominating the share at 31% and Apple Music at 15% in the second quarter of 2021, according to Midia research.
As someone who uses Apple Music, this data is upsetting.
There were more iPhone users than Android users in North America in June 2021, according to Statista.
This means if all iPhone users are loyal Apple ecosystem inhabitants, Apple Music should be topping Spotify in the music streaming industry. The data, however, suggests that — obviously — there are some traitors.
The bottom line is that the Spotify app belongs on Android phones.
iPhone users despise seeing green text bubbles, and that is an undeniable fact. So I want to ask the traitors — respectfully — why use a green app that screams Andriod?
I agree that Spotify benefits are superior: a Spotify subscription comes with Hulu and other advantages. Having access to a variety of movies and shows while being able to make a shared playlist is such a win.
But it’s all about the aesthetic.
Let’s not forget about the times when the illegally downloaded songs on the iTunes app made us into main characters. iTunes rebranded itself to Apple Music and the legacy lives on. Let’s not ditch the app that gave us such core memories of our pre-teenage years.
iPhone users must switch to Apple Music.
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Follow the Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
Contact Sawa Yamakawa via Twitter (@_sawayamakawa) or by email: sawa.yamakawa@pepperdine.edu
