Why is Spotify Shutting Down Heardle? The Truth Behind the Controversial Business Decision

Last updated on June 3rd, 2023 at 10:51 pm

In April 2023, Heardle players everywhere were devastated when they discovered that Spotify would be shutting down the fun music game. But why is Spotify shutting down Heardle? And are there games that are similar to Heardle that you can play on a different platform? Read on to find out why Heardle is going away for good.

Why is the Heardle Music Game Being Shut Down?

In a recently released statement, Spotify said they were shutting down the Heardle app because the company needs to spend more time focusing on bettering other aspects of their platform. Spotify announced this to customers through a pop-up and a banner in the app.

They state that because they acquired the Heardle music game from another company, it never truly fit their vision for a music app. While this leaves us wondering why they purchased it in the first place, it does make sense that music streaming and a music game are on opposite sides of their business spectrum.

Not only will the 69 million players of this game no longer get to play this fun music guessing game, but Spotify is even purging the Heardle archive. This means if you want to remember all of your fun times on the Heardle app, or have proof of your high scores, you will need to log in to Heardle and take a screenshot of your scoreboard by May 4^th, 2023.

Spotify has also announced that they are largely overhauling their platform. Many users have already noticed the changes which include the addition of a discovery feed that can be found on similar popular websites like TikTok. They’ve also rolled out an AI DJ which can make designing a playlist for a party a little bit easier.

Besides their obvious moves in a different direction, we also recognize that the current economy has been difficult for tech companies around the world. We suspect that cutting Heardle is more of a budget-cutting move than a “narrowing their focus” move.

According to a statement made by Spotify, there were no employees dedicated solely to Heardle, so no one should be losing their jobs over the cut. Rather their staff will simply be directed to other projects.

heardle music game — Spotify Logo. Image by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash.

When is the Heardle Game Shutting Down?

Spotify acquired the Heardle App in July 2022 and at the time, they stated that the game would remain free for all players. Therefore, lovers of the game were shocked when just a few months later the company announced that Heardle will close down in just a few days on May 5^th.

While we know the Heardle game will no longer be available on May 5^th, Spotify didn’t give a time of day that the app would be shut down, so if you have anything important in Heardle, you’ll want to log in no later than May 4^th.

Are There Other Games Like Heardle?

Heardle is based on a similar word game called Wordle, which has also seen a decline in players over the recent years and currently has an uncertain future. But this game doesn’t have the same level of music integration which is why it probably won’t be at the top of your list as a replacement.

The good news is, there are other music-based guessing games such as Song Trivia, Binb, and Songlio. All three of these apps play a small portion of a song for you to guess like Heardle. While the exact in-game offerings do vary, any Heardle fan will likely still get their fill with one of these games.

Additionally, if you are a song lyric guru, Lyricle is another alternative to try. In this game, you will be given lyrics to a song line by line, and you’ll have to guess the song.

So, as you can see, the future isn’t completely bleak without Heardle, so log in, screenshot your high scores, then download one of these four new games to test your music-guessing skills.

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