In summary, Spotify was working on integrating their latest desktop versions into Linux, and then just stopped about 6 months ago. Then yesterday, they pushed it live anyway and revealed that no one is working on Linux, but maybe someday they'll get around to it.
"The intention was to fix a few of the bigger issues and then quickly move this to stable. That never happened, since after September, we have had no developers working on the linux client. There are still lots of problem with this version of the client for linux, but we are now seeing much more problems with the old client."
>> Why the Spotify company does not hire a full-time Linux developer for tackle these issues?
> The reasoning is probably based on the number of actual and potential linux users. But who knows, maybe 2016 will be the year of the linux desktop.
I don't get (but well I'm a Linux user) it looks like it's not that much effort to polish it up to some degree - there are a lot of possible users out there e.g. at universities or at the workplace.
To be fair, Linux users aren't really completely left behind, there's the web interface (play.spotify.com).
I'd be interested to know how many people use native app vs. web interface. The web interface is not always as snappy as the native apps, but if it bogs down I can just kill the tab and launch it again.
1. I hate web apps for things that run the the background, Music is one of the things that needs a Tray Apps.
2. If it "bogs down" I can kill it by my dropdown terminal and killall, probally much faster than killing the tab
I do not spend all of my time in a browser, so I want a native app.
Look at Skype, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix Linux, Oculus VR and so many other cases of partial/broken Linux support. Linux is not a business priority. Even Valve, who jumped in with SteamOS and the Steam Machines, seems to keep Linux aside lately.
"The intention was to fix a few of the bigger issues and then quickly move this to stable. That never happened, since after September, we have had no developers working on the linux client. There are still lots of problem with this version of the client for linux, but we are now seeing much more problems with the old client."