As a jazz musician and a lover of music, I was predestined to be the music hipster in my family. But for most of my teenage years, my limited iTunes budget and the unstoppable and addictive force of pop stars’ record producers kept me from really discovering what kind of music was out there.

It wasn’t until I joined Spotify last fall that I realized how much more effective the streaming model is. Spotify gives me access to music I would never have listened to if I had to buy those titles (or illegally download them). From the variety of playlists that help you find all of that music you heard a few times on hipster radio stations to the special Spotify live sessions you can get access to, Spotify is a far superior offering to the old iTunes. It makes music an accessible medium so that all of the artists’ content is readily available in an easily navigable application, and you are only a click away from a related artist. But if Spotify isn’t careful, it may be dead before the end of the decade.

Currently, Spotify allows any person to sign up for their service for free—allowing users instant access to Spotify’s entire library of music. There are a few very important caveats that make this free service less appealing, most notably advertisements and the inability to download songs to your mobile device. When upgrading to Spotify Premium, you obviously benefit from being able to better control your music selection across devices. There is also the highly touted “Discover Weekly” playlist that offers customized recommendations for each user.

But what else is Spotify really doing for its paying members? Nothing; there is essentially no exclusive content on Spotify Premium. In the past, Spotify’s headlining public relations moves all deal with music they have acquired for their content library, which is available to every Spotify user regardless of payment. At times, it seems as if the company is more interested in finding ways to establish a larger base of free users than it is in acquiring more paying customers. Over time, paying members will be more likely to look elsewhere for a service that is better customized to their interests.

This threat is becoming especially clear due to the emergence of Apple Music. While initially criticized for being a Spotify copycat, Apple Music is establishing its identity as a premier streaming service. By refusing to take on free users and adding unique features like live radio stations and exclusive video and music content (see Taylor Swift’s “1989 Concert Film”), Apple will continue to prove its worth as a streaming option for customers. Spotify may be the king of streaming right now, but their complacency in refusing to reward loyal subscribers with special features could be problematic in the near future.

More pressingly, Spotify is verging on bankruptcy as they are losing money at a record pace ($197 million in 2014, up from $68 million in 2013) and struggling to find ways to become profitable. Spotify’s business model depends on the conversion of free account members into premium subscribers, but only 20 out of 75 million Spotify users are paying for the service. Unless Spotify finds ways to innovate its product and compete with services like Apple Music, YouTube Red, and Jay Z’s streaming product, Tidal, it may soon be just another short-lived cultural phenomenon.

For all of us college students who have become loyal fans of the service, the company’s lethargy should be greatly worrying. Alongside Netflix and Amazon Prime, Spotify has pushed its way into social relevance as a way to share, enjoy and discover music. Spotify may not be on the brink of extinction, per se, but if the company cannot find ways to turn itself into a product that values its paid subscribers, we may all be searching for another way to listen to music. None of this sounds problematic, but the most viable current alternative for avid music listeners is Apple Music, which costs about twice as much for college students. For now, Spotify will continue to stand atop the streaming hierarchy, and hopefully they will make Spotify Premium a product that can withstand the intense adversity it will continue to face in the music industry.