Spotify just dealt a major blow to a popular lossless music downloader

Spotify may have finally embraced lossless audio for Premium subscribers, but some music lovers still prefer to keep their favorite tracks offline as actual files rather than relying on a streaming subscription. That’s where SpotiFLAC comes in. The third-party tool uses Spotify’s music catalog to help users find and download songs as lossless audio files from other streaming services. Unfortunately, Spotify’s legal team has now taken notice, forcing the developer to pull the project’s public GitHub repositories. However, the story doesn’t end there.

In an announcement shared in the project’s official Telegram channel on October 20, the developer confirmed that they had received a legal notice from Spotify’s representatives. As a result, the developer took down the public repositories for both SpotiFLAC and SpotiFLAC Next.

The developer hasn’t disclosed what prompted Spotify’s legal action. That’s particularly interesting because SpotiFLAC doesn’t directly download music from Spotify. Instead, it uses Spotify’s music catalog to identify songs, albums, and playlists, then searches services such as Tidal, Qobuz, and Amazon Music for matching recordings. Users can then download those tracks as audio files, including lossless FLAC files, and store them locally for offline listening without needing the SpotiFLAC app to play them.

In other words, Spotify primarily helps the tool identify the music, while the actual audio comes from elsewhere. The project’s release documentation also confirms that Deezer can serve as an alternative metadata source.

While the Spotify-inspired branding may have triggered the complaint, Spotify may also have raised concerns about API access, trademarks (such as the use of the Spotify logo), or other aspects of the software. But there’s no confirmation yet, since the developer hasn’t disclosed the specific allegations in the legal notice.

For existing users, however, there’s some good news. The developer subsequently clarified that installed versions of SpotiFLAC still work, although they won’t receive further updates. SpotiFLAC Next will continue receiving maintenance, but the developer has moved it to a separate repository. The developer also stressed that independently maintained forks remain outside their control.

SpotiFLAC isn’t exactly disappearing

Rather than abandoning everything, the developer is already pursuing alternatives. The mobile app has a free, open-source successor called Mornye, which is already available for download on Android and iOS, while another project, Stream Hoarder, is being developed for desktop users.

The Python-based SpotiFLAC module has also been rebranded as Mornye Python, complete with a refactored codebase and redesigned extension system. Its previous PyPI package has been archived. Interestingly, some users report that downloads still work, but others are more concerned about the future of SpotiFLAC Next, especially after paying for access.

For now, SpotiFLAC’s original identity appears to be winding down, but its underlying ideas are surviving under new names. Whether Spotify’s legal concerns will extend to those successors remains to be seen.