I just quit Spotify too and went back to mp3s I’ve downloaded with Limewire. I got sick of playlists, messy UI, etc. I also got tired of people talking about their top music of the year. I honestly don’t care what you listened to the most.
All my mp3s are on my phone and on my Mac and work great
I also am not guilty not giving artists the $.0003 per play every time I play a son. Less guilty than the $1 per song in the 2010s or $20 per album in the 2000s…
I quit Spotify too though still in Apple Music. Hopefully later I'm able to buy non-DRM music (from something in Bandcamp to CD or even Vinyls). Actually I went to Vinyl store yesterday, it was such a refreshing experience.
Honestly I got sick of subscription. I know I'm not alone with that. I want to actually own my own music. I don't want to pirate either 'cause I still genuinely support those artists.
Try qobuz. They're a streaming service and an online music store. Obviously bandcamp>qobuz when it comes to supporting the artists, but anything you can stream, you can buy and download in flac, mp3, etc. They also have a fair amount of high-res stuff too.
Qobuz was such a great discovery for me a couple of years ago. I've bought so much more music lately because of it.
Combined with my Plex server and plexamp on my phone, I have all the streaming benefit from Spotify, with my own music collection that I've built up for more than 20 years at this point.
Just a heads up, Bandcamp has gotten a little shady in the past year or so. I honestly forgot what happened, but I think they got bought out by some shitty label that's known for treating artists like shit.
I know what happened--they got bought by Epic (yes, Fortnite's Epic), then I think sold just last year, and now their situation is I think in limbo, not sure
Spotify is stealing from artists too. I’m just not lining that corporations pockets. I still buy albums from band camp and go to shows and buy merch — all much more direct impactful ways of supporting the artists.