Playlist downloads can be made available to free users.

My point was, if people are unhappy with the price increase, why go to a platform they dislike when they can simply get around the dilemma with tools people in similar situations have made.

I don't think saying you want to pay to support a multi-billion dollar company is a good answer for "why" - maybe ease of use is, but if that were the case, why move to Spotify if you dislike it? That's not ease of use.