r/Music • u/ebradio • Jan 22 '25

music Spotify Hosts Trump Inauguration Brunch and Makes $150,000 Donation to Ceremony

https://pitchfork.com/news/spotify-hosts-trump-inauguration-brunch-and-makes-150000-donation-to-ceremony/
6.3k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

852 comments sorted by

View all comments

184

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

29

u/in-the-key-of-ryan Jan 22 '25

Qobuz I believe is a French company? It’s $1 more per month than Spotify and you can stream lossless up to 24b 192kHz. I recommend

9

u/raqisasim Jan 22 '25

Plus you can buy many tracks off Qobuz DRM-free.

9

u/ClumsyRainbow Jan 22 '25

My only (minor) gripe with Qobuz is the more limited library. Deezer is a little better in that regard.

11

u/boxed_knives Jan 23 '25 edited 13d ago

Friendly reminder that Qobuz allows you to request music that isn't in their library.

1

u/ClumsyRainbow Jan 23 '25

This is news to me! Time to go through the gaps I found.

1

u/Bryan84 Jan 23 '25

If you pay yearly it works out cheaper than Spotify

55

u/dowagercomtesse Jan 22 '25

Deezer’s algorithm may not be as good but they have a decent catalogue. It’s a French company.

28

u/scrundel Jan 22 '25

High quality audio files as well. If I don’t absolutely need Spotify for clients I’d ditch it for Deezer. Tidal is also somewhat better.

8

u/sirbissel Jan 22 '25

I tried Tidal a while back, but there was something about it (I can't remember what) that made it not work for me. I feel like it was something to do with their phone app or it didn't work well with Android Auto or something?

4

u/nobrayn Jan 22 '25

Tidal’s discovery algorithms were not good when I tried about 4 years ago. I kept getting recommended things I thoroughly didn’t enjoy. I’d been spoiled by Spotify up till then. Just generating stations. I switched to Apple Music.

1

u/lintinmypocket Jan 22 '25

I think tidal’s algo is better than Spotify, I noticed it immediately after I switched. That was about a year ago so maybe they improved since you tried, but I’m sure it depends on individual tastes too.

4

u/raptir1 Jan 22 '25

I used it on Android + Android Auto without issues as of about a year ago. I switched back to YouTube Music once they got rid of their Plex integration (I usually still used the Tidal app because the integration didn't really work well anyway). 

The big issue for me was just mediocre radio options. Plex was able to do a good job supplementing that so it didn't bother me until they removed the integration. Tidal is great if you just want to stream albums though. 

4

u/Ill-Ad-7571 Jan 22 '25

Owned by an oligarch who donated to trumps personal legal fund

2

u/dowagercomtesse Jan 22 '25

Damn. Was not aware that it was owned by Access Industries, who of course make regular donations to republicans. They also own several record labels so even buying actual records isn’t ideal either. Ugh I’m so tired of it all

2

u/Ill-Ad-7571 Jan 23 '25

Yeah it’s hard to find anything not owned by mega corporation these days

1

u/chantesprit Jan 22 '25

Qobuz. Also a French company. Probably the one that gives the most to artists

1

u/Kooky-Path-1334 Jan 23 '25

What's Deezer?

103

u/WetIce Jan 22 '25 edited Jan 22 '25

Rutracker. Let's bring back music piracy. We aren't making any money from spotify streams anyway.

Edit: If you really want to pay for music, use bandcamp

18

u/Sharpymarkr Jan 22 '25

Yep. Bandcamp or piracy.

6

u/ArdDC Jan 22 '25

...and at shows. Buy merch!

21

u/hidepp Jan 22 '25

Yup. I always buy music from Bandcamp when the artist is there.

Prices are fair and I know I'm actually helping the artist somehow.

1

u/Thee_Autumn_Wind Jan 22 '25

This might be dumb to ask, but I’m an old so bear with me. Where do the files you buy through Bandcamp go and how do you access them to listen? I primarily listen to digital files through my phone.

4

u/evilspoons Jan 22 '25

If you want to, you can set up your own kind of streaming service by running software like PlexAmp. You set up a server on a PC that's always on at home that has a copy of all your music then PlexAmp streams it over the internet.

Alternately you can just copy all the MP3 files to your phone and play them with something that supports local music playback. I believe iPhones still have whatever iTunes has turned into, and on Android there are a number of decent offline music players. Poweramp comes highly recommended but I've never used it myself.

1

u/Thee_Autumn_Wind Jan 22 '25

I see, thank you. The first option seems a little above my technical ability. I also don’t have a PC outside of my work laptop and I wouldn’t be able to use that for that function.

Storage would be an issue then as I could only have so much on my phone at a given time.

2

u/hidepp Jan 22 '25

You can download them in many formats (MP3, FLAC...)

So you can just download them and store wherever you want.

1

u/sunbloomofficial Jan 23 '25

where my soulseek homies at

1

u/GNUTup Jan 22 '25

What apps do you use to access your music library remotely? I don’t pay for any of my tv, but haven’t figured out how to pirate music conveniently / effectively

-1

u/username161013 Jan 22 '25

How much space do you have on your phone? I have 30 gigs of music on mine. It's enough to drive cross country for 3,000 miles over 4 days, and not hear the same song twice. There are a bunch of apps that will play music off your phone locally, no internet required. 

I know I'm old school but I've never seen streaming as a viable alternative. Even something that lets you stream your own library remotely has its issues. What happens when you have a crappy connection? No more music.

1

u/GNUTup Jan 22 '25

That’s not the question I asked

-2

u/username161013 Jan 22 '25

You asked how to access your music library remotely. I said you don't even have to. 

If you're already pirating tv and movies as you said, you should already know how to download music for free. I gave you a better solution for playing those downloads that relying on an internet connection to stream them remotely. You're making things harder than they need to be.

11

u/theesimon Jan 22 '25

Well Spotify is based in Sweden…I too would like alternatives.

22

u/DownTrunk Jan 22 '25

Purchasing music directly from the artist is the best way to otherwise, Tidal pays the most per play, I believe.

5

u/AlwaysLeftoftheDial Jan 23 '25

Long time user of Tidal, and I agree, they pay musicians more

1

u/xigua22 Jan 22 '25

Lemme hit up Taylor Swift and see how much she's selling it for.

12

u/HesThePianoMan Jan 22 '25

TIDAL is hands down the best alternative

9

u/fuckYOUswan Jan 22 '25

Qobuz - higher quality (FLAC) and pays artists much more per stream than Spotify. Just switched over myself.

7

u/itchygentleman Jan 22 '25

Tidal is Norwegian, and is higher quality.

20

u/jupiterkansas Jan 22 '25

Owning your own music.

13

u/ninjacereal Jan 22 '25

This is it. I record my own covers of my favorite songs and keep them on physical cassette tapes so nobody can take them from me.

4

u/jupiterkansas Jan 22 '25

Well, making your own music is good too I guess.

17

u/WeWantLADDER49sequel Jan 22 '25

Doesn't matter, all the companies gave him money. At least Spotify only did 150k.

2

u/Other_Jared2 Jan 22 '25

Not sure if UK based, but I switched to Tidal recently and am enjoying it. They have (paid) services to transfer your library too which are pretty easy to use

1

u/scrundel Jan 22 '25

Deezer is pretty great actually. French company, if I remember correctly.

1

u/kamanitachi Jan 22 '25

Bandcamp if your artist is there. Ototoy for Japanese music. Qobuz lets you buy HQ music, but if your song is region locked, you need to have a VPN on at account creation. See other comments for “free” options.

1

u/Sea-Cupcake-2065 Jan 22 '25 edited May 31 '25

abounding cooing disarm bells spoon point zephyr plough ghost attempt

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

1

u/pdxcranberry Jan 22 '25

I use Napster and Pandora

1

u/unalivezombie Jan 22 '25

When you can it's good to buy albums direct from artists. BandCamp and CDBaby are great places to buy digital downloads. Some bands offer direct from their websites.

1

u/casket_fresh Jan 22 '25

I love SoundCloud Go for streaming and music discovery, but I’m in the states.

1

u/guisar Jan 23 '25

Qobuz. Better quality streaming, decent royalties. Playlists are not as tailored as Spotify but other than this, much better. Qobuz is more similar to walking into a record store.

1

u/Far_Wolverine_4167 Jan 23 '25

Tidal. Dev is Norwegian IIRC

1

u/PM_ME__BIRD_PICS Corpse Paint Eater Jan 23 '25

Tidal. Everything else is garbage and I'll die on that hill.

1

u/EnderWiggin07 Jan 23 '25

Spotify is swedish lol

0

u/FunDmental Jan 22 '25

I use YouTube Music.

51

u/derangerd Jan 22 '25

Google (and Tim Cooke) both donated a million to the inauguration fund so it doesn't seem like youtube music or apple music are any better. Not meaning to try to be judgy, just don't want people going through the hassle of switching for nothing. That said, hope youtube music is working for you.

24

u/iamnotexactlywhite Jan 22 '25

every major corp did

21

u/derangerd Jan 22 '25

Yeah =(. No ethical consumption under capitalism.

3

u/Vio94 Jan 22 '25

Yup, good luck boycotting the entirety of capitalism.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '25

We can avoid pointlessly giving most large corporations our money, at least. Vote with your wallets.

1

u/MeIIowJeIIo Jan 22 '25

Protection money (pizzo)

14

u/semmaz Jan 22 '25

Sundar Pichai was at inauguration

14

u/FunDmental Jan 22 '25

What I meant to say is "try cassette tapes"

1

u/semmaz Jan 22 '25

Which is not a bad idea, bring on the remixes tapes

4

u/alchemistakoo Jan 22 '25

I have YT music but just found out they pay artists even less per stream than Spotify. Tidal pays artists the most.

3

u/semmaz Jan 22 '25

Tidal may be the option now, but, just do your own backups for music and try to buy directly from artists

2

u/alchemistakoo Jan 22 '25

like bandcamp

3

u/phat_ Jan 22 '25

The current state of modern Payola is criminal.

And Spotify ceo is richer than the richest recording artist in history.

There are ways for musicians to be compensated on YouTube like other YouTubers. It’s one of the only ways to support artists. Some of whom are turning to only fans work.

Concert touring is a painful joke these days.

YouTube Music algorithm is something to be desired but I try and find and support the artists I enjoy there. Fuck Spotify. Dropped my subscription and uninstalled.

2

u/semmaz Jan 22 '25

I’m just saying - be wary of alphabet associated companies from now on. I sincerely hope that they (yt & google) wouldn’t be swayed as others, but GOP has its fingers on all of the major players, and they do have lavarege on them

2

u/phat_ Jan 22 '25

I’m wary of everything. And I certainly hope we ALL find better ways forward. I hope we get a streaming platform that’s truly artist friendly.

I would prefer not to support many of these companies. Absolutism is not an easy option.

As with politics, it’s a shit sandwich. Always. So you try and mitigate how much shit you’re going to have to ingest. And you champion the less shitty ways. Better compensation for artists is less shitty than horrible compensation.

I think the important thing is to keep calling out the platforms for their shady business practices/politics.

Reality is really tough. I don’t even know how much internet is controlled by AWS. I have to depend on Apple for my business. I try to vote with my wallet everyday. I encourage everyone to do so. And be mercenary. I hate Walmart. I hate Amazon. But if that’s where my family can get by a little easier right now? I’m going to eat shit.

1

u/semmaz Jan 22 '25

Look, with music bands it usually very simple - just go to their website and buy from their favorite provider. With politics - yeah, shit stain after another one, but, there’s shit satan reincarnation prancing about with his sword, so…

1

u/mixedpatch85 Jan 22 '25

I do as well. Google donated 1 million. Fuck

-1

u/TheoTheodor Jan 22 '25

literally Spotify, famously a European (Swedish) company.

Oh also Deezer maybe.

-1

u/chirczilla Jan 22 '25

Apple Music is great

10

u/AverageLateComment Jan 22 '25

Apple is in bed with them

-1

u/Wassertopf Jan 22 '25

Spotify is a European company.