That’s a good point. But the issue is, it’s always going to be a moving target. Every year I could reassess the streaming services and quit the one I’m on and go with the one that best meets my needs each year. And each year it could be a different one. Ethically, that would be the superior option. But, I’m not perfect, I’m barely ideal, and I use a family plan to help justify my cost. Sure, I pay more, but I also get my wife and a couple other family members the gift of perpetual music as well.
So if every year, or every, however often, I were to reassess, and drop one service, and start another one and ask them to dump the app and get a new app and let me add them on that, all of us are losing our entire library every time we switch across. It’s a lot of work. Sure, there are tools to convert your stuff over, but it’s still a bit of work.
At this point it’s not about who’s the actual absolute best at the things that matter the most, at this point it’s just which one’s good enough for our needs. Also Apple is one of the few streaming services that doesn’t give a hoot if your family all lives with you. We had Spotify before and at that point — this was years ago — you had to retype the address every month, and if, say, my niece mistyped it, she’d lose access to her premium benefits for a month. At one point I just sent her an email with the exact text to copy and it was fine, but like if she accidentally left a space at the end or something, if the text didn’t match 100%, it was this whole thing — and of course I wasn’t compensated for a family member being denied their benefit for the month. Apple does not care. You add the person and they get the benefit without ever having to physically be at that address. I just hope that doesn’t change.
(Also, I think Napster pays artists the most now, ironically?)
I appreciate your candour and time given to the response. The (superior) alternatives in respect to the given objectives were given as these were also concerns shared by me and at the time of my personal search they were the top contenders. Napster I recall eliminating early due to bountiful issues and subpar features, however I admit their state in 2025 is unknown to me.
At day’s end, the goal of the ideal is never summited by the well-worn path of least resistance. Our thoughts whisper “at least it’s better than XYZ” so that our conscience, though we know it a lie, is lightened. But I’m blathering on the piracy Lemmy so I can be ignored.
That’s a good point. But the issue is, it’s always going to be a moving target. Every year I could reassess the streaming services and quit the one I’m on and go with the one that best meets my needs each year. And each year it could be a different one. Ethically, that would be the superior option. But, I’m not perfect, I’m barely ideal, and I use a family plan to help justify my cost. Sure, I pay more, but I also get my wife and a couple other family members the gift of perpetual music as well.
So if every year, or every, however often, I were to reassess, and drop one service, and start another one and ask them to dump the app and get a new app and let me add them on that, all of us are losing our entire library every time we switch across. It’s a lot of work. Sure, there are tools to convert your stuff over, but it’s still a bit of work.
At this point it’s not about who’s the actual absolute best at the things that matter the most, at this point it’s just which one’s good enough for our needs. Also Apple is one of the few streaming services that doesn’t give a hoot if your family all lives with you. We had Spotify before and at that point — this was years ago — you had to retype the address every month, and if, say, my niece mistyped it, she’d lose access to her premium benefits for a month. At one point I just sent her an email with the exact text to copy and it was fine, but like if she accidentally left a space at the end or something, if the text didn’t match 100%, it was this whole thing — and of course I wasn’t compensated for a family member being denied their benefit for the month. Apple does not care. You add the person and they get the benefit without ever having to physically be at that address. I just hope that doesn’t change.
(Also, I think Napster pays artists the most now, ironically?)
I appreciate your candour and time given to the response. The (superior) alternatives in respect to the given objectives were given as these were also concerns shared by me and at the time of my personal search they were the top contenders. Napster I recall eliminating early due to bountiful issues and subpar features, however I admit their state in 2025 is unknown to me.
At day’s end, the goal of the ideal is never summited by the well-worn path of least resistance. Our thoughts whisper “at least it’s better than XYZ” so that our conscience, though we know it a lie, is lightened. But I’m blathering on the piracy Lemmy so I can be ignored.