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I went Spotify cold turkey and I’m currently doing a combo of buying stuff on Bandcamp (lots of stuff is also free to stream in Bandcamp!), second hand CDs and ripping CDs from the library (older artists that don’t need the money like new releases do). For me owning the music feels right atm, and as someone know is more of a listener of specific artists it works for me.
If you really want a streaming service, I’ve been considering Soundcloud, which seems perhaps the lesser of evils. I know a lot of people also rate Tidal, but I’m not sure of the ethics behind it (as is always the case when anything gets massive). But they’d both be better options than Spotify!
Good luck!
If you really want a streaming service, I’ve been considering Soundcloud, which seems perhaps the lesser of evils. I know a lot of people also rate Tidal, but I’m not sure of the ethics behind it (as is always the case when anything gets massive). But they’d both be better options than Spotify!
Good luck!
4d ago
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🎵I finally did it, because it’s evil. I will probably write a more comprehensive list of things that make it easier but for now…
1) literally just delete it before you do anything else. we adapt very fast to things.
2) accept that you will listen to different things in different contexts. I was like oh but i have records I don’t own on download/cd so I won’t have them on my phone…so what? i have records I listen to on record in the house, CDs I listen to in the car etc.
3) bandcamp! use your Spotify subscription fee to buy an album each month. Also you get three free streams of like every song if you like to try things out
4) soundcloud - if you still want to have a streaming service equivalent and know that even the alternatives are also evil, Soundcloud seems like the least evil
5) YouTube - for when you’re like “oh I really wanna listen to Barracuda by Heart” one day
6) charity shop CDs
7) library CDs
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🎶I switched from spotify almost a year ago- it felt weird at first but I couldn't imagine going back. I buy myself 1 cd a month off bandcamp like a little treat- costs the same as a monthly spotify subscription AND now you get to own the physical media AND the original high quality wav files that the artist uploaded themselves. Spotify, Apple, and yt cut sound quality significantly and listening to the same albums on bandcamp feels like hearing it all for the first time. Also the artists actually get the money you pay, bandcamp only takes a very small portion. Ik not all artists are on bandcamp tho, so for that I'll go onto YouTube with an adblocker. Now i have a great cd collection and I never worry about ads
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🎶I've never paid for Spotify. I started with Grooveshark (as dubious as LimeWire) and moved onto Rdio before it was slaughtered by Spotify when it launched in the united states. I'll never forgive that.
Pandora - Yes, it still exists. Yes, it's radio stations are still far better than any other streaming services. I pay for ad-free stations and use these for music discovery. I listen to stations or full albums. I don't give a fuck about playlists.
Bandcamp - This is where I buy digital albums when I can (iTunes/Apple Music when I can't). Bandcamp allows you to stream songs a few times for free before asking you to pay so I preview albums with this service a lot. You can download music you buy to the Bandcamp app on your phone, but you'll need to download on a PC and transfer to your phone if you want the files in the stock music app (I believe that's only an iPhone limitation)
iTunes is still a thing but called the Apple Music App now. It supports all its old functions but kinda worse all around because it pushes an Apple Music subscription at every turn. Like seiji points out, you can "turn off" Apple Music (streaming) and use the iOS and MacOS Apple Music app as just an MP3 player. It's almost old school iTunes with all the playlist creating tools you could want.
Yes, you can still rip CDs! As long as you have a CD reader...
Longplay - MP3 player app for iOS that only allows you to listen to albums in full. No picking and choosing tracks! I almost exclusively use this for listening to music downloaded to my phone.
Vox - Minimal music player for Mac and iOS that also plays lossless audio codecs. Feels like iTunes with all the bloat stripped out. It's completely free. They have a premium subscription that will sync your collection to the cloud (but they don't shove it down your throat). Also supports Last.fm scrobbling.
Pandora - Yes, it still exists. Yes, it's radio stations are still far better than any other streaming services. I pay for ad-free stations and use these for music discovery. I listen to stations or full albums. I don't give a fuck about playlists.
Bandcamp - This is where I buy digital albums when I can (iTunes/Apple Music when I can't). Bandcamp allows you to stream songs a few times for free before asking you to pay so I preview albums with this service a lot. You can download music you buy to the Bandcamp app on your phone, but you'll need to download on a PC and transfer to your phone if you want the files in the stock music app (I believe that's only an iPhone limitation)
iTunes is still a thing but called the Apple Music App now. It supports all its old functions but kinda worse all around because it pushes an Apple Music subscription at every turn. Like seiji points out, you can "turn off" Apple Music (streaming) and use the iOS and MacOS Apple Music app as just an MP3 player. It's almost old school iTunes with all the playlist creating tools you could want.
Yes, you can still rip CDs! As long as you have a CD reader...
Longplay - MP3 player app for iOS that only allows you to listen to albums in full. No picking and choosing tracks! I almost exclusively use this for listening to music downloaded to my phone.
Vox - Minimal music player for Mac and iOS that also plays lossless audio codecs. Feels like iTunes with all the bloat stripped out. It's completely free. They have a premium subscription that will sync your collection to the cloud (but they don't shove it down your throat). Also supports Last.fm scrobbling.
