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Do I use Spotify, YouTube Music, or Apple Music?
None of the above.
That’s right, I still buy MP3s.
Cameron Summerson / How-To Geek
Considering how many online music stores remain around, I’m not alone.
I can’t speak for others, but here’s why I haven’t made the switch to streaming.
The software helped determine which model to pick over another.
Companies were experimenting with different ways to interact with our music libraries, and it was fun.
Now, experimentation has shifted to apps on our phones.
For a while, the open-sourceAuxiomusic player (pictured above) has been my favorite app for the job.
When I’m using a Samsung Galaxy phone, I like the consistency ofSamsung Music.
I live in a rural area and regularly drive through other rural parts of the state.
Perpetual internet access is not something I take for granted.
Streaming apps control the entirety of their listening experience.
If they make a change you don’t like, you’re stuck with it.
That, to me, is a worse experience than the one I grew up with.
But being able to swap out apps?
That’s pretty cool.
It’s the curation.
I like seeing how this library changes with time.
This is a subjective matter, I know.
Spotify users look forward to theyear’s summary of what they’ve listened to.
They share playlists that reflect their creativity.
Their words and melodies form the soundtrack to our lives.
Opting Out of the Streaming Business Model
Streaming services don’t exactly pay musicians.
Or rather, they don’t pay much.
With digital storefronts likeiTunes,Amazon Music,7digital, andMagnatune, I can buy music outright.
I give them money and walk away with MP3s that I can use as I wish.
How often I listen to them, no one knows.
Whether I put them on my phone or a portable MP3 player, no one knows that either.
In many ways,Spotify is now a social online grid.
I don’t like having my behavior monitored and logged.
I don’t like being so explicitly manipulated.
Algorithms have made social media toxic and turned YouTube into a risky place to browse.
I don’t want them steering my music, either.
Fortunately, it’s not all or nothing.
it’s possible for you to stream most songs and opt to buy only those you love most.
