I have got to admit I canned Spotify subs years ago - but how are they managing to grow their subscriber base whn it is now going to be £11.99 in the UK? That is way, way too high for what it offers...
this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2025
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I guess some people are, as long as it’s a good balance of convenience and price. Ages ago, Napster, Kazaa and DC++ were considered more convenient than buying music. I guess torrents are used for that these days.
I work a desk job. I cant put pirated music on my work computer or ill get fired. Only real option is a pay service.
I don’t like to bring my personal stuff on my work computer, but I can use my phone for all that stuff instead. You could use a BT speaker to blast pirate metal in the office.
I thought about using my phone but I dont have unlimited data on my phone. I also dont have unlimited data at home so id run my phone and internet down faster. Phone is the real issue as its not much cell data at all per month.
An offline solution exists too, but then you would need to sync a few gigabytes of mp3 files on your phone. Not quite as convenient, but at least it wouldn’t use any mobile data. Actually, it’s still a whole lot nicer than dragging a CD player and a few discs with you. If you’re into retro, you totally can get CDs too…
There's a P2P app from the same era as KaZaA, originally released the same year (2001), that's still in active use today: Soulseek. It's a great way to find obscure music, some of which isn't on streaming services and is extremely difficult to obtain otherwise.
Usenet is good for less popular stuff too. Torrents die once the last seed is gone, but some Usenet providers have over 10 years retention, and you always get full speeds over an encrypted connection with no uploading required.
Edit: Support artists where possible, but sometimes there's music that's impossible to find, and that's when these services come in handy.
Do I need an invite for usenet?
now I don't want to be that person but I'd like to give artists some money somehow. Like I dislike AI as it rips people off - there is a (difficult) middle line to tread
The problem is there's some 90s albums I can't find anywhere - not on Discogs, not on eBay, not on Marketplace. The record labels are usually long gone. But they're on Soulseek. I'm not sure what else to do to get them.
There's also things like DJ sets/mixes that were never sold, only ever distributed online for free.
And that Judas priest CD in the cellar somewhere, sometimes you have paid the artist already so soulseek comes in handy.
Of course... I mean you don't want them coming around your place to see you do you (Judas Priest that is)
I wouldn't mind them coming by 😁 !
There is always someone lol. I could imagine it would be an epic party
Of course... not quite my point but yours is valid. I'd just like a more ethical alternative which I know is asking far too much in 2025
Bandcamp?
I buy merch or direct where I can. I generally pirate older stuff or stuff I would not pay for or cannot find anywhere. I got a rip of dogma and I wll buy the4k to encourage a sequel.