I ditched Spotify and set up my own music stack

The table comparing the authors solution to Spotify is missing the biggest benefit of streaming services, which is the cost.

It would cost way more than $11 a month to buy all of the music I listen to.

If you're always listening to new music, that makes sense. But are you really? Or are you listening to the stuff you already know and like, with an occasional sprinkling of new music? My impression is that most people are more in the latter group than the former, and at that point you need to consider whether you come out ahead if you buy music rather than renting it. I know that I personally would waste a ton of money paying for Spotify, because I'm 99.99% listening to the music I already know and like.

For some napkin math:

I just transferred my library from Spotify to Apple Music (with the new built in tool!): 13k liked songs.

I started using paid Spotify from invite, before public release in the US, so 15 years.

Lets go very conservative (for me) and say every 3 songs is from the same album, at $12/album (LOL!): $52k, or $288/month.

Spotify cost: $2.1k, or $12/month

If I had to pay for albums, I would definitely be listening to less varied music.

I mean, I did say if you're listening to new music all the time then Spotify makes sense. It sounds like you are, so it makes sense for you. But not everyone does that. For myself, I already have the music I like. I would say that once every 3-4 years I come across a new artist I like and I purchase a few of their albums. If we're really aggressive, let's say I buy two new albums per year at $12 each... so my marginal cost is $24/year versus $144/year with Spotify. It all comes down to one's listening habits.

I'm in the opposite situation. I only listen to old songs I already own (and even then, not often, as I often prefer silence -- I only listen to music actively, not passively when doing something else), so the cost of Spotify felt like a total ripoff. Navidrome was a godsend.

> I mean, I did say if you're listening to new music all the time then Spotify makes sense.

> It all comes down to one's listening habits.

Yes, I'm aware. I was clearly giving you a somewhat extreme example to support your statement. But, it appears it was interpreted as some sort of a personal attack for some reason. I can't comprehend the modern internet.