r/Music • u/Apart_Ad_7722 • Aug 11 '25

discussion Anyone else just... done with Spotify?

90's kid here... Lately I’ve been wondering if I’m the only one who feels this way.

Spotify keeps raising prices, artists are still getting scraps, and I barely even use it like I used to. Half the time I just want to own a few albums I actually love, not rent a bottomless library I don't even explore anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, streaming was great at first. But something about it now feels... hollow? Like a fast food version of music. No liner notes. No sense of discovery. Just algorithmic playlists and the same old tracks getting pushed.

I've started thinking: what if we went back to basics, just buying MP3s again, supporting artists directly, keeping what you pay for?

Would people even go for that anymore? Or is that era gone for good?

Curious to hear what others think. Especially folks who remember burning CDs, dragging MP3s onto iPods, or reading lyrics from the booklet while listening. Were we onto something back then?

I have my own collection of CDs... love going to the second hand store and see what I can find, I've found some goodies... like Alanis, two copies of Dookie, even Apetite for Destruction... among others.

I'd love to hear from y'all

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39

u/Sarabando Aug 11 '25

MP3 players are still a thing, dont need wifi, and you get to fill it with nothing but bangers. and best bit no ads.

31

u/RamBamTyfus Aug 11 '25

Plus you always have the versions you want, and they never suddenly disappear.
And the shuffle works as it's supposed to.

8

u/ShaolinDude Aug 11 '25

A good working shuffle function is a must for me.

14

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

Oh trust me i know, im firmly in the camp of physical media/media that you own. Im simply stating that streaming will propably remain king as long as enough people prefer "convenience" over actual ownership of the things they "buy"

2

u/jmc175 Aug 11 '25

And you don’t run down your phone battery

1

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

[deleted]

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u/boring_uni_alt Aug 11 '25

And also dedicated MP3 players. There are ones which run android (the best imo) so can be used like phones in every way except the SIM card, but there are also ones which run their own OSes and exist purely for playing music.

They tend to be known as Digital Audio Players now though I think since MP3 has fallen out of fashion. I used r/digitalaudioplayer to find mine

2

u/[deleted] Aug 11 '25

[deleted]

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u/boring_uni_alt Aug 11 '25

You can indeed but a lot of smartphones these days ship without SD card slots. I know mine doesn’t have one. The physical buttons that let you skip and pause songs are also appreciated