I’m in a dilemma, I think ownership of media is important, but the convenience of Spotify and the algorithm of new music that it suggests has helped me find amazing artists that I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise.
Fellow sailors, what are your thoughts, and how do you personally listen to music?
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I had 500 songs downloaded for offline listening, but had an issue with my carrier in the middle of a work day which left me without an internet connection… And this freaking app didn’t let me listen to the songs I already had downloaded. Noped right out of there.
Dude that sucks! This is one of my greatest concerns as we enter web 3.0 and give control over to companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc.
I now use this library of FLAC files on Music Bee, a free software that looks awesome. When I connect my phone to my PC, Music Bee converts all songs to high bitrate MP3 and syncs with the phone - I then use an open source music player to listen to them.
It must be a nice feeling having high quality flac files that you can play without any DRM nonsense when you want and how you want. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Maybe its a generational thing but I prefer having a Plex / Plexamp serveur with all my music as FLAC on my home server. I can better curate my collection and it’s available everywhere.
Plexamp is awesome, and the UI/UX is gorgeous in my opinion!
Local library. I don’t want to pay for things I don’t own. Streaming services also can remove/ disable music any time. I also don’t need recommendation algorithms I think they are biased. I can easily discover new artists on blogs
Nice! Any suggestions on what blogs I should go to for some recommendations?
I’ve got a local library that I stream with using Subsonic/Airsonic-compatible APIs.
Streaming for discovery, private tracker to get it in FLAC.
Local copy for life. Streaming is just renting by a nicer name. I don’t want to pay for the rest of my life to access the same content. I’ll buy CDs and I’ll buy DRM-free FLAC files if available, but otherwise I’m pirating the FLAC copy or, if worst comes to worst, ripping the audio from YouTube (too many new artists/YT artists don’t offer lossless downloads). I’m not paying for something I don’t get to keep.
I have Ampache running on a self hosted server, which has desktop and mobile apps.
I don’t know why you were down voted but thanks for this. I’m doing some research on it now. So here take this upvote
I normally stream music, then download it onto my own devices if I like it - then I can experience the benefits of both.
Give ViMusic (for Android) a try. It’s free in F-Droid. It’s like Spotify but uses Youtube Music for the backend.
I have a Spotify account and never use it anymore. ViMusic is great.
Local library for me for sure!
I discover new music through friends, Shazam, and browsing Youtube Music.
With ~6k songs I don’t get bored that fast.
I agree with OP that it is best to have DRM free files. For music recommendations, I use a Scrobber plugin for Last.fm.
I have tens of thousands of songs in my home computer but I prefer to just use Spotify when I am outside.
I have my local library on my computer, and then use iTunes Match to stream it to all of my devices. I had originally subscribed to Apple Music when it came out, but realized that I only really listened to music that I already had purchased.
When I found out about iTunes Match, and that it cost $25 / year instead of a monthly subscription, I switched to that and I’ve been happy ever since.
This totally depends on YOU and how you consume music. I am an analog collector who has a small collection of cassette tapes and vinyl to play at home for gatherings. But then I have spotify for the car and for showering lol.
I have a smart TV with ReVanced so I don’t get commercials/ads on YouTube and can play music there too.
I stream because it helps me discover new artists, and makes it effortless. I do have my own library though.