If you read the Government doc linked near the top of the Guardian article, you find this little gem:
"A further one billion litres a day will also be needed to generate energy, grow our food, and power emerging technologies."
Basically things will be worse because a load of water is going to be consumed by AI data centers.
I did return to my old flac and mp3 collection. Got Foobar working again, found a nice skin and I'm rediscovering music that I that skipped over. I buy second-hand CDs when I find them. I've managed to get a digital copy of all my favourite albums and tracks.
I will keep Spotify though. A long time ago, I got friends to share their Discovery and Release Radar playlists. With my own, I have a nice spread of recommendations.
I need regular new music. Call it a search for unexpected dopamine. Spotify still picks new tracks that I really like. I also like Spotify Connect and the easily shared collaborative playlists.
The UK has less alternatives for music discovery. I don't like Radio, way too much talking and ads.
I've got rid of Netflix, Prime. I'm getting Disney+ for free at the moment. Back to physical for film and TV.
For now, Spotify recommendations is worth the cost of entry.