4 ms·

Those who use non-streaming music libraries… how do you do music discovery? I listen to a large variety of music and I love that I can get pretty much anything

by cbsks 3y ago

Those who use non-streaming music libraries… how do you do music discovery? I listen to a large variety of music and I love that I can get pretty much anything I desire within a few seconds on Spotify. Listening to new music would be harder if I have to commit to buying the songs first. I really like the idea of having own music collection, but it would be very expensive to get started and I feel like I would still keep my Spotify subscription for discovery.

Acrobatic_Road 3y ago
Discovery is easy. Subscribe to labels you like on Bandcamp, and subscribe to promotional channels on YouTube.
an_aparallel 3y ago
like we always have - people you know, forums, good radio shows (online and airwaves) - subscription streaming services are "easy" - that's often all they are. Their negatives far outweight their convenience - and they do nothing to help their product (the artists)
meristohm 3y ago
I'm considering letting go of music streaming. My options for exposure to more music going forward will be: Radio, for when I want music, am open to discovery, and can't be bothered to choose Public Library, for when I want to browse for something to play while driving Recommendations from friends I'm also feeling like I have near enough music to hit all my emotional notes (I usually listen for emotional resonance), which makes discovery less important as I get older.
rtpg 3y ago
When I'm in the mood for new stuff, sometimes I just open up bandcamp and click around, buying "random" albums if there's a song or two whose previews sound good. I have a radio on my desk that I listen to at times (thank you Shazam). And I have a couple of internet radio streams I listen to. I also sometimes just stare at CDs at a local used store and stand there in the aisle previewing the music online. Another thing: I'm in a handful of Discords with #music channels. I like some people's tastes, so when they post a thing I usually listen in. But people with non-streaming collections can still go onto Youtube or the like to listen to a song!
soulprovidr 3y ago
I built an aggregator for new albums, using RSS feeds from a few hand-picked sources: https://nudedis.co/ https://nudedis.co/ Every Friday morning it generates a Spotify playlist using GPT to reduce friction. I find the convenience of Spotify as a discovery tool to be too great to get rid of.
diggan 3y ago
I think I've had my Spotify since around 2008/2009 sometime. Some years ago, I started noticing that some of my playlists only have like 30% of the songs still available, so I started buying the music I listen to, mainly via Bandcamp and Bandcamp Fridays (https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-fridays-update https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-fridays-update). But still, my music library on Spotify is huge, and I still use Spotify for discovery of artists and labels, mainly via related playlists or user's playlists. Then I purchase that music on Bandcamp or wherever it's available so I have a local backup. I also never buy music without listening to it first and knowing I like it.
davkan 3y ago
The only way to beat the value proposition of music streaming services is piracy. If you’re not willing to torrent then nothing will ever top Spotify. People who use these types of libraries are usually pirating at least a majority of their music if not all. Even then, discovery is a challenge and requires a decent amount of effort to make it even approximate the level of discoverability you get with streaming services, but it is possible[0]. That said, private trackers offer a level of archival quality that you cannot get with streaming. I recently was listening to a bit of ska/rocksteady/early reggae and Spotify had abysmal coverage of old albums compared to YouTube and private trackers. I think the best solution is probably Apple Music since you can at least fill the gaps in the service by uploading your own music, however you want to get it. [0] https://imgur.io/a/ZIkUyRv https://imgur.io/a/ZIkUyRv

by cbsks 3y ago

Acrobatic_Road 3y ago

Discovery is easy. Subscribe to labels you like on Bandcamp, and subscribe to promotional channels on YouTube.

an_aparallel 3y ago

like we always have - people you know, forums, good radio shows (online and airwaves) - subscription streaming services are "easy" - that's often all they are. Their negatives far outweight their convenience - and they do nothing to help their product (the artists)

meristohm 3y ago

I'm considering letting go of music streaming. My options for exposure to more music going forward will be: Radio, for when I want music, am open to discovery, and can't be bothered to choose Public Library, for when I want to browse for something to play while driving Recommendations from friends I'm also feeling like I have near enough music to hit all my emotional notes (I usually listen for emotional resonance), which makes discovery less important as I get older.

rtpg 3y ago

When I'm in the mood for new stuff, sometimes I just open up bandcamp and click around, buying "random" albums if there's a song or two whose previews sound good. I have a radio on my desk that I listen to at times (thank you Shazam). And I have a couple of internet radio streams I listen to. I also sometimes just stare at CDs at a local used store and stand there in the aisle previewing the music online. Another thing: I'm in a handful of Discords with #music channels. I like some people's tastes, so when they post a thing I usually listen in. But people with non-streaming collections can still go onto Youtube or the like to listen to a song!

soulprovidr 3y ago

I built an aggregator for new albums, using RSS feeds from a few hand-picked sources: https://nudedis.co/ https://nudedis.co/ Every Friday morning it generates a Spotify playlist using GPT to reduce friction. I find the convenience of Spotify as a discovery tool to be too great to get rid of.

diggan 3y ago

I think I've had my Spotify since around 2008/2009 sometime. Some years ago, I started noticing that some of my playlists only have like 30% of the songs still available, so I started buying the music I listen to, mainly via Bandcamp and Bandcamp Fridays (https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-fridays-update https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-fridays-update). But still, my music library on Spotify is huge, and I still use Spotify for discovery of artists and labels, mainly via related playlists or user's playlists. Then I purchase that music on Bandcamp or wherever it's available so I have a local backup. I also never buy music without listening to it first and knowing I like it.

davkan 3y ago

The only way to beat the value proposition of music streaming services is piracy. If you’re not willing to torrent then nothing will ever top Spotify. People who use these types of libraries are usually pirating at least a majority of their music if not all. Even then, discovery is a challenge and requires a decent amount of effort to make it even approximate the level of discoverability you get with streaming services, but it is possible[0]. That said, private trackers offer a level of archival quality that you cannot get with streaming. I recently was listening to a bit of ska/rocksteady/early reggae and Spotify had abysmal coverage of old albums compared to YouTube and private trackers. I think the best solution is probably Apple Music since you can at least fill the gaps in the service by uploading your own music, however you want to get it. [0] https://imgur.io/a/ZIkUyRv https://imgur.io/a/ZIkUyRv