I'm facing a very similar problem. Same story as you, I would buy MP3 or pirate if they weren't easily made available. But the amount of research I would put in

I'm facing a very similar problem. Same story as you, I would buy MP3 or pirate if they weren't easily made available. But the amount of research I would put in the music I was listening to was enormous, making me proud of my collection. I was able to recognise any song in my collection in less than 5 seconds, give you the artist, how I discovered it and potentially an anecdote about them. Now I have playlists full of stuff I know nothing about. It definitively solved the music distribution issue, but I have trouble to be emotionally attached to the music I discover on Spotify. I think your theory about the IKEA effect is probably spot(ify) on