I used to rely on Spotify for everything from daily playlists to discovering new music and podcasts. However, Spotify was beginning to feel like a compromise. The cluttered interface, frequent ads, missing tracks, limited skips when using the free version, and blatant and borderline aggressive upselling to Premium made the experience miserable. I tried the Premium subscription, but it didn’t solve my issues with the heavy-handed interface, irrelevant recommendations, and the high cost. So, I looked for alternative music players.
One app that popped up in my recommendations was SimpMusic. The name didn’t sound like much, and the app promised too much to be true. It is free and open source, with access to the YouTube Music library without ads or subscriptions. I was skeptical. However, after using SimpMusic for a few days, I don’t miss Spotify Premium. Here’s why.
SimpMusic is like Premium, but without the price tag
A full-featured music experience
SimpMusic pulls its music from YouTube. However, unlike YouTube or YouTube Music, SimpMusic filters out all visual clutter, giving you a clean interface designed for music listening. It also offers features you’d expect from a premium service, including ad-free listening, background playback, high-quality streaming, playlists, and offline caching. All without requiring any logins.
The interface is simple, fast, and well-designed, allowing you to get up and running quickly. Usability and performance have been prioritized with the focus on simplicity. However, that doesn’t mean that SimpMusic misses out on features. The essentials, like a sleep timer and synced lyrics support, are here. Give the app an OpenAI key, and it translates lyrics for you.
SimpMusic also includes SponsorBlock integration, allowing you to skip sponsored segments in live sets or music. It’s fantastic. For someone used to Spotify’s nagging over not being able to skip a track, the freedom here is refreshing. The app also supports Android Auto, which makes it easy to use on the go. The feature set is on par with established players.
The app goes a step ahead with its focus on a lightweight installation. With little to no tracking and a focused feature set, the app is light enough to be used on older phones and doesn’t hog battery life or resources.
So, what’s SimpMusic like to use every day?
More music, less noise
Given the nature of the app, there are benefits to using SimpMusic. For one, the app is seamless to use, with no ads interrupting your listening. I observed that the search function was a step above alternatives for one simple reason. As SimpMusic taps into YouTube Music, it pulls in remixes, live concerts and bootlegs that never appear on Spotify.
In many ways, this free app offers a broader music library than Spotify. You can favorite songs, build custom playlists, and cache albums or tracks to listen offline. That’s a plus while traveling or for tackling spotty network connectivity.
Similarly, SimpMusic is efficient due to its light size and lack of extensive tracking. While Spotify showed up as a significant blip in my battery stats, this app doesn’t. It doesn’t run unnecessary background services or downloads, making it a big win.
One unexpected bonus is the SponsorBlock integration. If you’re into DJ sets or live videos, or want to skip unnecessary introductions, you can. It’s not perfect, but it works more times than not.
Elsewhere, SimpMusic uses YouTube’s public data to populate album info or cover art, so it can occasionally get things wrong. Still, it usually works, and includes Spotify Canvas support if you like visual album covers.
If you’re looking for perfect metadata or fully fleshed-out and organized discographies, SimpMusic might disappoint. Don’t get me wrong, the music is there, but the organization isn’t always perfect. Still, that’s a small trade-off for access to free streaming.
A free music app that just works
SimpMusic doesn’t try to be a Spotify clone. It goes a step beyond in functionality by stripping away bloat and including the core features needed for a great music listening experience. There are no monthly bills, tracking, or algorithms pushing the same music towards you. The organization might leave some wanting, but the app allows you to listen to music the way you want.
If you primarily use Spotify for music listening, and not for its social features, AI playlists, or Connect-based streaming, SimpMusic is a solid alternative. It’s free, open source, and doesn’t compromise on functionality.
