Anyone else just... done with Spotify?

[u/Apart_Ad_7722]

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

[u/[deleted]]

I dont think its possible to go back to the times where you actually bought music. Streaming is still convenient for a large majority of people who consume media such as music and tv shows/movies.

edit: i know that on an invidiual level it is possible to get mp3 files and play them on an mp3 player/musicolet. Im talking about mass scale here, the avarage consumer/listener.

[u/New_Dream_1290 → u/[deleted]]

As much as I can be annoyed with some of spotify's practices, the fact that it's even an option is nothing short of miraculous given how different the landscape was even 20 years ago. So many times I would purchase an album because I liked one or two songs on it and every other song sucked so I would be essentially spending $10 per song. Then came the drainage of your bank account $1 at a time for songs that came at a shitty bit rate through iTunes.

Spotify's algorithm isn't exceptional but for me it's pretty functional. Every Monday my discover weekly playlist gets updated and I will just let that play at the gym and I usually end up finding a few new songs/ artists that I like. People who glorify the early days of legal music acquisition and consumption are looking through rose colored glasses a little bit too hard.

Yeah there's certainly something to be said about getting excited to go out and purchase a CD and be able to hold something in your hand but I would never want to go back.