This is one of my obsessions. I'm an audiophile and musician with an actual degree. Wow! I've tried every single streaming platform, and here are my recommendations.
I'm hoping to migrate off Spotify this year, mostly so artists I love actually get paid. I already only listen to music on it (Libby for library books and Libro.fm for audiobooks I want to own), and a podcast streamer for that. I was thinking of trying to move off streaming entirely though. You mentioned one storefront, are there other good places to buy digital files?
Yum! I really liked the article! Thanks for the switch tip!!! 🎁How I love music but I have to ration myself. I am missing my wrapped year so! But I quit paying Spotify because poor and discovered k-pop entrancing fandoms that got me dopamine crazy ^^ (forever 14) not good for my mental health. I have even removed Instagram. OMG
Ommm
I love listening to all of Stevie Wonder (?!!) and whatnot But what got me on a platform (2022) after 10 years in exile _How do we find concerts now? Where have the cultural papers gone?_ is Netflix! > crazy good soundtracks in k-dramas... I was not going to find them in a shop.
Tried Tidal but it is not so good for not-in-English and niche genres so I left it pretty quickly. Ooh 🫠 I will try the other two platforms for fun.
Tried Tidal and the only reason I left was because it doesn’t offer collaborative playlists (should have/could have done more research beforehand). One of the core interactions and connecting points my daughters and I have is through our joint playlists, so we switched back to Spotify (and I threw up a little bit in my mouth as I did it). I think Apple has collaborative playlists, so I’m going to check it out. I’m also starting to rebuild my CD and cassette collection (not into vinyl, although I can understand the appeal). I regret ever giving away most of my CDs! Thankfully, I still have some awesome burned CDs made back in high school and university, so that’s a comfort haha
From what I understand Black Rock are one of the major shareholders of Block Inc, who are majority owners of Tidal. I know that Black Rock own pretty much everything but it makes me hesitant to get Tidal.
As I said in the piece, they're all sorts evil (except qobuz which is kinda neutral.) no ethical consumption. Just make the best decision that sits right with you!
I love this. As someone who had an annual Spotify plan and chose not to renew it this year for the ethics, this is more concise of a breakdown than anything else I could find. I’ve ended up with bouncing back and forth between Qobuz and Apple Music depending on what’s all available. But also Apple Podcasts high key slaps. My plan is to ride this wave till my iPhone dies and hopefully at that point some smaller phone companies with better ethics have taken off.
I recently switched to Qobuz and I’m pretty happy with it. Sound quality is great and the app is good enough for me to find what I like to listen to at work. With so many decent options there’s really no excuse not to leave Spotify at this point.
I really enjoyed your take here. Out of all the pieces I’ve read about spotify in the last few days yours felt balanced. I especially liked your take on the community sharing part of the wrapped, the celebration of friends sharing what they enjoy .
I’ve been exploring new streaming options so thanks for including some options!
I can look this up, but since we’re on the topic, does Apple Music work with Android? I’m with Apple, but I live with an anti-Apple partner and we have a family Spotify account for multiple users in the household—does that workout on Apple the same way—and still compatible with a Nest? 😂 I’ve got research to do but really appreciate you breaking this down for us!
I'm hoping to migrate off Spotify this year, mostly so artists I love actually get paid. I already only listen to music on it (Libby for library books and Libro.fm for audiobooks I want to own), and a podcast streamer for that. I was thinking of trying to move off streaming entirely though. You mentioned one storefront, are there other good places to buy digital files?
Yum! I really liked the article! Thanks for the switch tip!!! 🎁How I love music but I have to ration myself. I am missing my wrapped year so! But I quit paying Spotify because poor and discovered k-pop entrancing fandoms that got me dopamine crazy ^^ (forever 14) not good for my mental health. I have even removed Instagram. OMG
Ommm
I love listening to all of Stevie Wonder (?!!) and whatnot But what got me on a platform (2022) after 10 years in exile _How do we find concerts now? Where have the cultural papers gone?_ is Netflix! > crazy good soundtracks in k-dramas... I was not going to find them in a shop.
Tried Tidal but it is not so good for not-in-English and niche genres so I left it pretty quickly. Ooh 🫠 I will try the other two platforms for fun.
I must get a CD player again.
Merci Isaac!
I would add in Subvert, a new completely artist-owned platform based on a co-op model that's aiming to be a Bandcamp alternative.
End of the day, streaming is not really viable for most artists - if you really want to support them, you should be buying direct.
Tried Tidal and the only reason I left was because it doesn’t offer collaborative playlists (should have/could have done more research beforehand). One of the core interactions and connecting points my daughters and I have is through our joint playlists, so we switched back to Spotify (and I threw up a little bit in my mouth as I did it). I think Apple has collaborative playlists, so I’m going to check it out. I’m also starting to rebuild my CD and cassette collection (not into vinyl, although I can understand the appeal). I regret ever giving away most of my CDs! Thankfully, I still have some awesome burned CDs made back in high school and university, so that’s a comfort haha
From what I understand Black Rock are one of the major shareholders of Block Inc, who are majority owners of Tidal. I know that Black Rock own pretty much everything but it makes me hesitant to get Tidal.
As I said in the piece, they're all sorts evil (except qobuz which is kinda neutral.) no ethical consumption. Just make the best decision that sits right with you!
Guess I'm an old man because I choose Qobuz lol. For podcasts, I like Antennapod. It's open source and no ads.
Qobuz is awesome
I tried to find your music on Qobuz that I switched to a few months ago and didn’t find anything. What is the name of your band?
I love this. As someone who had an annual Spotify plan and chose not to renew it this year for the ethics, this is more concise of a breakdown than anything else I could find. I’ve ended up with bouncing back and forth between Qobuz and Apple Music depending on what’s all available. But also Apple Podcasts high key slaps. My plan is to ride this wave till my iPhone dies and hopefully at that point some smaller phone companies with better ethics have taken off.
I recently switched to Qobuz and I’m pretty happy with it. Sound quality is great and the app is good enough for me to find what I like to listen to at work. With so many decent options there’s really no excuse not to leave Spotify at this point.
I really enjoyed your take here. Out of all the pieces I’ve read about spotify in the last few days yours felt balanced. I especially liked your take on the community sharing part of the wrapped, the celebration of friends sharing what they enjoy .
I’ve been exploring new streaming options so thanks for including some options!
Is there more to your guide? That's reasons to quit not a full guide.
It gives alternatives and even an option on how to migrate your songs/playlists. All that's missing is an "just do it" 😂
Pardon me for skimming! Too many words so little time 👉👁️👄👁️👉
I can look this up, but since we’re on the topic, does Apple Music work with Android? I’m with Apple, but I live with an anti-Apple partner and we have a family Spotify account for multiple users in the household—does that workout on Apple the same way—and still compatible with a Nest? 😂 I’ve got research to do but really appreciate you breaking this down for us!
Yes and yes. It works on Android and it works with Nest devices.