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Ethical alternatives to Spotify (slrpnk.net)
submitted 2 weeks ago by harfang@slrpnk.net to c/technology@beehaw.org
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Recent news revealed that Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek has been investing heavily in military tech companies, which adds another ethical layer to a platform already criticized for how little it pays musicians !

Spotify only pays artists about $3–5 per 1,000 streams, using a pro-rata model that directs most money toward major stars... By contrast, Qobuz (≈$18–20 per 1,000 streams) and Tidal (≈$12–13) pay far more fairly!

However Tidal is far from ethical. Most of its revenue is controlled by private investors and founders and small artists still earn very little...

More fair-minded platforms like Bandcamp, Resonate, Ampled, or SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties prioritize musicians over investors.

With these more ethical alternatives available, why do we keep using Spotify?

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[-] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

I buy on Bandcamp Fridays, but am suspicious of that platform since they changed owners so often without any input from the community or musicians.

I'm keeping my eye on https://subvert.fm/ as a hopefully more democratic option.

[-] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 weeks ago

"So often?" I only heard about Epic acquiring them, have there been developments?

[-] jerkface@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Well, shit!

  • Epic Games bought Bandcamp in March 2022.

  • In 2023, Bandcamp’s workers unionized under “Bandcamp United.”

  • In late 2023 (October), Epic sold Bandcamp to Songtradr, a music licensing company.

  • As part of that sale, many of the former Bandcamp employees were not offered positions by Songtradr, particularly those involved in union organizing.

  • Songtradr stated it would continue Bandcamp’s marketplace model and its “artist-first revenue share,” but declined to confirm whether certain features (e.g. user experience, Bandcamp Daily editorial) would remain unchanged.

I had no idea. Union busting, now... What a great way to show you respect the people who generate your wealth.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

Old fart checking in ... why not just buy the tracks instead of paying for monthly access that screws artists? I mean, each song is unlikely to be more than $1.49, and then you own it. I don't have a streaming music account and never will because the idea of paying repeatedly for the same thing -- with the option of it being pulled at any time -- is nauseating.

[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago

Why would I? Pay $1.49 to listen to 1 song over and over or pay $12 to listen to basically the entirety of human creation any time I want? Not to mention custom playlists and whatnot.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 0 points 2 weeks ago

My music collection spans some 1,700 tracks and several full albums. It's not difficult to create local playlists, I don't pay monthly, and I don't have an excessive data plan because I need streaming. Look at the knock-on costs. It's not $12/month.

[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago

I listen to probably at least a dozen new songs every day. If I bought them that would cost me $18/day. Or $540/mo. Not to mention the absolute fortune required to store them all locally.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

My 1,700 tracks, most at 320kpbs, take up 20GB. Albums add another 4GB. My four-year-old phone has 256GB of storage. I'm not sure where this "fortune" comes from. Especially when you're paying extra for data monthly just to stream. You're still spending the money, just pretending it's unrelated to music.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

I'm in the phase of my life where if I encounter a new track I like in the wild, I'll buy it. But I'm not seeking out new stuff because (cracks open a PBR and grows a goatee) everything feels homogenized today.

Perhaps it's just different use cases. Still, you're dependent on a company to be able to continue listening to the music you like. That's worrisome. If a company took away the collection I've been building since the '80s, livid wouldn't begin to explain my reaction.

[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago

if I encounter a new track I like in the wild, I'll buy it.

How do you "encounter" new tracks?

But I'm not seeking out new stuff because...everything feels homogenized today.

If you're not actively seeking out new music, it will feel that way, because you're just listening to whatever is on the radio or on TV or whatever. This is the beauty of streaming platforms. In the past you were only ever exposed to whatever music the record companies decided you should hear. And it was almost exclusively homogenous "pop" music, to some degree. With streaming music you can discover new music every day based on your personal preferences.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

OK. Lots of assumptions here. I haven't listened to the radio since the '90s, and I've never paid for cable.

My preferred genres are progressive house and trance, and I got into the rave scene about the time I stopped listening to the radio. I started my collection via fservs on IRC, ratio FTP sites and then Napster and P2P, totally obviating the record labels. I'm subscribed to various music producers on YouTube for when I'm thinking I want something new, and if it makes me cry, off to Beatport I go.

So, like, not to be rude, but you got every assumption wrong.

[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Lots of assumptions here.

you got every assumption wrong.

Zero assumptions here, you said you were, and I quote, "not seeking out new stuff", I didn't assume that.

I'm subscribed to various music producers on YouTube

So you DO enjoy streaming music...

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I hope you enjoyed feeling like you had a "gotcha" moment. When on my computer, yeah, I watch some YouTube, but mostly news and late-night monologues. I sure as shit don't pay for it.

[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago

I have no interest in "gotcha moments". Just having a discussion about the virtues of streaming music platforms vs. buying.

If you don't pay for it then you are pirating, which is a whole other discussion.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

"If you don't pay for it then you are pirating" is not a discussion, it's an erroneous blanket statement.

[-] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I’m subscribed to various music producers on YouTube

So you DO enjoy streaming music…

Even while you are being careful, you are still reading things in. He didn't say he listens to music on YouTube. It might be a safe assumption but that isn't what was stated. If you're going to be pedantic, do it right.

[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

LOL your suggestion is that they said they're subscribed to various producers but they don't listen to them? Now that's pedantic.

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

Being subscribed is not the same as listening. In fact, I use a Firefox add-on to specifically exclude what I've categorized as music. It is vanishingly rare that I turn that setting off.

I strongly associate any given track with the mood I was in when I first heard it, and I've not been in anywhere near a good mood since the election, so listening to new stuff at this point would give it negative connotations that would forever follow that track around in my mind.

So I stick with "college road trip" or "I just met my (ex-)wife" sorts of stuff. I don't exercise or anything, and my earbuds are lost somewhere in my van. I rarely listen to music, period, because it reminds me of not being homeless.

[-] thatsnothowyoudoit@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It’s worse. My music is on Spotify - while I would no longer meet their minimum for payments, even before that change they refused to pay me or provide stats until I provided a twitter or Facebook page/IG page, none of which I have - despite publishing through an established publishing company who could absolutely handle payments and play stats.

Spotify is cancer.

[-] BurgerBaron@piefed.social 0 points 2 weeks ago

I find Spotify is dogshit to navigate I can't find anything. If I let it autoplay it'll just start playing generic shitty dance music. I don't get it. I've never discovered an artist through Spotify.

I exclusively use Bandcamp lately. Unfortunately, American owned. Looking into other suggestions here.

[-] Schmuppes@lemmy.today -1 points 2 weeks ago

I used to discover artists on Pandora. That site was great.

[-] 30p87@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago

Pirate and pay creators directly.
Pirating is the objectively best, most private and future proof user experience you're gonna get.

[-] Mihies@programming.dev 0 points 2 weeks ago

Pirate and pay creators directly.

How does that even work?

this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2025
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