Quick, best music streaming service
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As per title, if you had to switch away from Spotify ASAP, what streaming service would you go with? Ideally something around the same price range, meaning the change won't incur in extra expenses. Also good if the service does its job well: playing music and paying artists. Any feature parity with Spotify is a bonus, except podcasts, which don't require a paid streaming service. Or audiobooks. Focus on music. No piracy either (it's illegal). The more money going to artists, the better.
Edit: extra bonus points if it is not 'Murican! Also, piracy is very illegal!!!
I use iBroadcast, it's got a free service tier with no ads and the devs are very friendly and responsive. It's a little wonky connecting to my Sonos, but works great otherwise.
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As per title, if you had to switch away from Spotify ASAP, what streaming service would you go with? Ideally something around the same price range, meaning the change won't incur in extra expenses. Also good if the service does its job well: playing music and paying artists. Any feature parity with Spotify is a bonus, except podcasts, which don't require a paid streaming service. Or audiobooks. Focus on music. No piracy either (it's illegal). The more money going to artists, the better.
Edit: extra bonus points if it is not 'Murican! Also, piracy is very illegal!!!
Apple Music has some quirks but it’s what I’ve settled on because I already own mostly Apple devices and it handles importing owned media well (after you learn some of those said quirks)
It allows me to keep my personal and streaming library in the same app but also has some segregation between the two. They also pay artists more than Spotify.
I still try and buy CDs for any music I really care about. It’s the best way to support the artist and also I appreciate the nostalgia piece.
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As per title, if you had to switch away from Spotify ASAP, what streaming service would you go with? Ideally something around the same price range, meaning the change won't incur in extra expenses. Also good if the service does its job well: playing music and paying artists. Any feature parity with Spotify is a bonus, except podcasts, which don't require a paid streaming service. Or audiobooks. Focus on music. No piracy either (it's illegal). The more money going to artists, the better.
Edit: extra bonus points if it is not 'Murican! Also, piracy is very illegal!!!
I just switched to Qobuz and I like it a lot.
It's French, and they pay artists like 4 times as much as Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
They have a huge library, the only issue I've had is sometimes I need to input the full artist name and song title in search for the song to come up.
Also, it's a music storefront as well. You can purchase songs from them to download and do with as you please. As an added bonus, subscribers to the streaming service get 60% off all music purchases. So if you ever want to think about branching off into self-hosting, Qobuz is a great place to start.
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Apple Music has some quirks but it’s what I’ve settled on because I already own mostly Apple devices and it handles importing owned media well (after you learn some of those said quirks)
It allows me to keep my personal and streaming library in the same app but also has some segregation between the two. They also pay artists more than Spotify.
I still try and buy CDs for any music I really care about. It’s the best way to support the artist and also I appreciate the nostalgia piece.
Eh, I don't own any Apple devices. Do you own a CD player, though? Or is it just to support the artist through purchase? I wonder how much money makes it to the artist on physical sales, and which way is best for the artist (e.g. an artist's online store vs. physical store nearby). I do have vinyl. Issue is mainly the cost. Damn thing be 30+ monies for each (I think). Also, convenience. Hitting play on anything I want online vs. picking from a limited selection, having to clean it, hold it carefully, store it in the right position afterwards. I considered buying some earlier this year, when I saw some at the store. Ended up not buying. Wasn't fully convinced, as I'm not as familiar with those albums. There is also the factor of being able to acquire the stuff I listen to. Big, popular albums? Avalaibalabable. Some of my random, less popular stuff? Who knows…
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No piracy either (it’s illegal).
Are things bad because they're illegal? Piracy being illegal is basically irrelevant, since you're not gonna get fucked for doing it; the question is if it's bad. Just wanted to point this out, sorry about the tangent!
YouTube Music, IMO. You have basically every song you'll ever want, and then some. YT Music Premium does also pay artists, I believe, since you're interested in paying.
YT Music also comes free with YT premium.
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I just switched to Qobuz and I like it a lot.
It's French, and they pay artists like 4 times as much as Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
They have a huge library, the only issue I've had is sometimes I need to input the full artist name and song title in search for the song to come up.
Also, it's a music storefront as well. You can purchase songs from them to download and do with as you please. As an added bonus, subscribers to the streaming service get 60% off all music purchases. So if you ever want to think about branching off into self-hosting, Qobuz is a great place to start.
Interesting. I've seen Bandcamp, I think, having days where artists get all the money from sales.
I'd considered Qobuz before, having heard of its better artist payment. It's unfortunately not available on Linux, which is a shame :(. I do have Android, though, which they probably support. Also difficult doing the switch when you're in a family plan, cause either it ends up costing you separately, or the whole family must move. Not sure I can get everyone on board, unless they see a benefit themselves
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Interesting. I've seen Bandcamp, I think, having days where artists get all the money from sales.
I'd considered Qobuz before, having heard of its better artist payment. It's unfortunately not available on Linux, which is a shame :(. I do have Android, though, which they probably support. Also difficult doing the switch when you're in a family plan, cause either it ends up costing you separately, or the whole family must move. Not sure I can get everyone on board, unless they see a benefit themselves
They have an app on Android, and their family plan is about as cheap as Spotify's (from what I saw).
AFAIK their website works well for streaming music on PC, and you can also download any songs you buy.
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Self-hosting is work, though. I cannot guarantee quality service, I don't think. I mean, I do have an old laptop acting as a server, of sorts. Pi-hole and all. But I don't use it for much else cause I don't trust meself. Only a matter of time until I lose all files on server or something. Or suddenly unable to hear music on the go or whatever. I'd be more likely to have the files on my phone than to self-host
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Yeah, I think self-hosting can be overkill for music, for most people most of the time. If you're an average 2/3 device user like me, copying the files around isn't too bad.
Either way though, +1 to both buying and ripping CDs, and buying from Bandcamp. It takes some effort, and isn't as good in terms of trying new music. But it's nice to have some limitations sometimes. Having almost every album and song right at your fingertips is great, but the amount of choice can be overwhelming.
I can't say much because I mostly use Spotify too. But it's also just nice to have local files as an option.
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I've heard of Qobuz, and have been very intrigued. Downside is I've seen no Linux option :(. They do allow for buying music as well, innit? I reckon that'd pay the artist better?
I've heard of Bandcamp, I think, doing a day where all money goes to artists. Seems neat. Not sure I can be trusted with handling my own stuff, though. I mean, I lost music I bought for 0 monies off Play Store / Music back when it was a thing. I like to think they got rid of it, but maybe I deleted it after download. I eventually lost the files (many a system issues that lead to some reinstallations, and crappy last minute backup onto my phone).
Qobuz sounds nice, though. I do have some vinyls, but I've been lead to believe they require cleaning often, which is work. Just the other day, wanted to hear an album (haven't used vinyl in ages). Can't find cleaning kit, but vinyl seems clean. Nope, skip every other beat.
Check to see if Qobuz has a web player. That could be a possible way to use it on Linux.
The issue with the record player sounds like it could be an issue with the arm adjustment. I specifically suspect too little weight on the needle. But be careful with adjustments as too much weight on the needle could damage both needle and record.
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I just switched to Qobuz and I like it a lot.
It's French, and they pay artists like 4 times as much as Spotify, Apple, and Amazon.
They have a huge library, the only issue I've had is sometimes I need to input the full artist name and song title in search for the song to come up.
Also, it's a music storefront as well. You can purchase songs from them to download and do with as you please. As an added bonus, subscribers to the streaming service get 60% off all music purchases. So if you ever want to think about branching off into self-hosting, Qobuz is a great place to start.
I switched to it. Not bad, but it's music discovery is awful compared to Spotify.
Do any of the platforms have an 'instumental' tag for music? Feels like it should be a basic feature....
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As per title, if you had to switch away from Spotify ASAP, what streaming service would you go with? Ideally something around the same price range, meaning the change won't incur in extra expenses. Also good if the service does its job well: playing music and paying artists. Any feature parity with Spotify is a bonus, except podcasts, which don't require a paid streaming service. Or audiobooks. Focus on music. No piracy either (it's illegal). The more money going to artists, the better.
Edit: extra bonus points if it is not 'Murican! Also, piracy is very illegal!!!
Deezer
Then while using that, learn to self host Lidarr + deemix + navidrome or jellyfin
Use tailscale to connect remotely very reliably and securely.
Use Symfonium app to stream your whole catalogue.
This is not what I would consider a difficult setup and it is incredibly reliable once deployed - I have had zero downtime in terms of being able to access and listen through Symfonium in over a year. You can download for offline use through Symfonium too.
Lidarr currently has an indexing issue to do with their metadata servers and musicbrainz changing stuff - they are testing the fix as we speak and it will be back up and running soon. This doesnt affect music you already have, just your ability to search new music.
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As per title, if you had to switch away from Spotify ASAP, what streaming service would you go with? Ideally something around the same price range, meaning the change won't incur in extra expenses. Also good if the service does its job well: playing music and paying artists. Any feature parity with Spotify is a bonus, except podcasts, which don't require a paid streaming service. Or audiobooks. Focus on music. No piracy either (it's illegal). The more money going to artists, the better.
Edit: extra bonus points if it is not 'Murican! Also, piracy is very illegal!!!
300 mp3 files in a folder called 'Music' on my phone, plus any local music player for playlists (shoutout auxio on f-droid)
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Yeah, I think self-hosting can be overkill for music, for most people most of the time. If you're an average 2/3 device user like me, copying the files around isn't too bad.
Either way though, +1 to both buying and ripping CDs, and buying from Bandcamp. It takes some effort, and isn't as good in terms of trying new music. But it's nice to have some limitations sometimes. Having almost every album and song right at your fingertips is great, but the amount of choice can be overwhelming.
I can't say much because I mostly use Spotify too. But it's also just nice to have local files as an option.
Gotta agree on the overwhelm of options. I indeed find limitations interesting in that regard. Maybe streaming services for trying stuff, and then buying anything worth buying. Too bad physical tends to be quite expensive. At least from the last time I've seen vinyls in a general tech and other stuff store. Is online cheaper?
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Yeah, I think self-hosting can be overkill for music, for most people most of the time. If you're an average 2/3 device user like me, copying the files around isn't too bad.
Either way though, +1 to both buying and ripping CDs, and buying from Bandcamp. It takes some effort, and isn't as good in terms of trying new music. But it's nice to have some limitations sometimes. Having almost every album and song right at your fingertips is great, but the amount of choice can be overwhelming.
I can't say much because I mostly use Spotify too. But it's also just nice to have local files as an option.
Gotta agree on the overwhelm of options. I indeed find limitations interesting in that regard. Maybe streaming services for trying stuff, and then buying anything worth buying. Too bad physical tends to be quite expensive. At least from the last time I've seen vinyls in a general tech and other stuff store. Is online cheaper?
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Yeah, I think self-hosting can be overkill for music, for most people most of the time. If you're an average 2/3 device user like me, copying the files around isn't too bad.
Either way though, +1 to both buying and ripping CDs, and buying from Bandcamp. It takes some effort, and isn't as good in terms of trying new music. But it's nice to have some limitations sometimes. Having almost every album and song right at your fingertips is great, but the amount of choice can be overwhelming.
I can't say much because I mostly use Spotify too. But it's also just nice to have local files as an option.
Gotta agree on the overwhelm of options. I indeed find limitations interesting in that regard. Maybe streaming services for trying stuff, and then buying anything worth buying. Too bad physical tends to be quite expensive. At least from the last time I've seen vinyls in a general tech and other stuff store. Is online cheaper?
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Check to see if Qobuz has a web player. That could be a possible way to use it on Linux.
The issue with the record player sounds like it could be an issue with the arm adjustment. I specifically suspect too little weight on the needle. But be careful with adjustments as too much weight on the needle could damage both needle and record.
Didn't know adjustments were a thing. I ended up using its Bluetooth, cause mine is fancy, modern. Some old tunes for a vibe, and Dust & Scratches on MyNoise for added vibes. I think it might just have been the cleaning. Haven't used vinyls in a minute, wasn't clean, probably. I just looked at it from afar, not a good inspection. Need to find the cleaning kit. Not sure if I need to clean it that often. Reddit is the place I went to for information a few years ago (early 2020). They make vinyls seem so fragile, and complicated. Store vertical, don't touch the vinyl, clean it up, etc. I've seen DJs just grab that shit however, and scratch it around (i.e. djing). So something feels odd.
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Gotta agree on the overwhelm of options. I indeed find limitations interesting in that regard. Maybe streaming services for trying stuff, and then buying anything worth buying. Too bad physical tends to be quite expensive. At least from the last time I've seen vinyls in a general tech and other stuff store. Is online cheaper?
Dunno, usually seems about the same. Sometimes you can get cheap ones by browsing vintage used records, but then condition is hit or miss. And of course it's near impossible to find any particular thing you're looking for.
I try to approach it in tiers - streaming for broad strokes, trying things, listening casually.
If there's a song/album/band that I decide I really like, maybe buy some songs on Bandcamp or CD to add to my digital collection; either can usually be pretty cheap.
Then vinyl I look at as a prestige format, and just want to get a few favorite albums there.
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Yeah, I think self-hosting can be overkill for music, for most people most of the time. If you're an average 2/3 device user like me, copying the files around isn't too bad.
Either way though, +1 to both buying and ripping CDs, and buying from Bandcamp. It takes some effort, and isn't as good in terms of trying new music. But it's nice to have some limitations sometimes. Having almost every album and song right at your fingertips is great, but the amount of choice can be overwhelming.
I can't say much because I mostly use Spotify too. But it's also just nice to have local files as an option.
I suggested Plex because it syncs local copies on a per device setting so you can stream and sync pretty seamlessly. I haven't copied a file around except for making backups for nearly a decade now. It does audiobooks with saved progress inside the files too.
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Dunno, usually seems about the same. Sometimes you can get cheap ones by browsing vintage used records, but then condition is hit or miss. And of course it's near impossible to find any particular thing you're looking for.
I try to approach it in tiers - streaming for broad strokes, trying things, listening casually.
If there's a song/album/band that I decide I really like, maybe buy some songs on Bandcamp or CD to add to my digital collection; either can usually be pretty cheap.
Then vinyl I look at as a prestige format, and just want to get a few favorite albums there.
I was thinking online as in digital download, instead of vinyls. I don't have a CD player. I think digital downloads could be interesting, though I am tasked with not łosing the files. Unless they allow me to download it again, unlike Google Play Music, that vanished off the face of the web along with the songs I purchased for 0 monies back in the day on lucky deals and whose more recent download I managed to lose, probably due to poor backups in one of many system reinstalls
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Dunno, usually seems about the same. Sometimes you can get cheap ones by browsing vintage used records, but then condition is hit or miss. And of course it's near impossible to find any particular thing you're looking for.
I try to approach it in tiers - streaming for broad strokes, trying things, listening casually.
If there's a song/album/band that I decide I really like, maybe buy some songs on Bandcamp or CD to add to my digital collection; either can usually be pretty cheap.
Then vinyl I look at as a prestige format, and just want to get a few favorite albums there.
I was thinking online as in digital download, instead of vinyls. I don't have a CD player. I think digital downloads could be interesting, though I am tasked with not łosing the files. Unless they allow me to download it again, unlike Google Play Music, that vanished off the face of the web along with the songs I purchased for 0 monies back in the day on lucky deals and whose more recent download I managed to lose, probably due to poor backups in one of many system reinstalls
