Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer. All of them are cheaper than Spotify. Just saying.
this post was submitted on 27 May 2026
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Fuck AI
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AI, in this case, refers to LLMs, GPT technology, and anything listed as "AI" meant to increase market valuations.
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I've started using the Qobuz store to slowly build back up my digital music library. Every month, I take what I would have spent on Spotify and spend it on flac files instead.
If you want your Spotify library ported over. Qobuz offers a free tool to transition.
Where do I find this? This article convinced me and your comment pushed me toward Qobuz to replace Spotify, but now I have no idea where this tool could be lol. I admit I've only been here (web and app) 5 minutes but I'm lost at where else to look.
Tidal is better than Spotify for music enjoyers. The quality is clearly labeled on each track and the UX has a focus on well, music. There aren't any podcasts or social features and other crap.
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You can actually buy albums on Qobuz. Buy and download, always yours, legally!
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Support artists, buy music on Bandcamp (especially on Bandcamp Fridays when they pay them more of the overhead fees), or from the artists directly.
Just remember when you buy from bandcamp to back up the drm-free copy you get. Then if Bandcamp goes under, or the artist pulls the track, you'll still have it.
Love Bandcamp, I just discovered Bandcamp works perfectly with Music Assistant (popular Home Assistant app).
Its the last online music service that isnt absolute shit. I give it 10 years. Otherwise, nas all the way.
We've learned that "bosses" will defend absolutely anything, of course he defends his own stupid decisions. Not even worth a quote, it goes without saying.
Stop subscribing NO MATTER WHAT. YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU ARE THE PROBLEM. Completely remove yourself completely from big tech... will to power... the dum dums do it. Will to power!!!! Quit now... take up masturbation. Go on a walk. Enjoy the silence but never ever subscribe evvveeeeeerrrrrr! No no no shhhhhhhhh... Be brave Be bold... Be a monk but don't be a chump. Computers are tools. You let them rip the hammer and the sickle right out of your hands. You are a baby that the billionare steals from. He is stealing your sucker because you are suckers. Some people are led to extremes like blowing up a federal building.... You can be extreme by telling them how it is and like a bull opting the fuck out. I go ape if you grape. Lay flat if their shit is wack
You allright there, bud?
well babysmokesalot... what can I say. Yeah I am ok. Thanks for caring.
I like this.
It is slop. Quit doing coke, my guy. That sounds like some wolf of wall street "got to get ahead of this" BS.
AI enthusiasts seem to think that quality is the problem. I don’t care how “good” it is. I don’t give a shit about art if it’s not made by a person. Human expression is what makes it art. End of story.
I bet it is from his point of view. Don’t have to pay the artists if they don’t exist.
Except when the artists use slop to pretend to be actual artists and used bots to farm listens on their totally real tracks, then spotify thinks it's very bad
From september 2025 - https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/home-entertainment/spotify-cracks-down-on-ai-slop-these-are-the-changes-youll-see/
A new spam filtering system: Since Spotify offers payouts to artists based on how often users play a song, scammers are trying to take advantage. The company explained that spam tactics like "mass uploads, duplicates, SEO hacks, artificially short track abuse, and other forms of slop" are easier to produce than ever with AI. Not only does this dilute the royalty pool for real artists, but it also reduces attention for those artists.
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/spotifys-new-policy-wont-stop-the-wave-of-ai-slop/
They claim that over the last year, they’ve removed 75 million songs engaging in what they call “spam tactics”: people mass-uploading generic nonsense; the same songs uploaded twice or thrice; cheats to hijack the SEO (like stuffing keywords in titles to get algorithmically surfaced easier); and “artificially short track abuse,” which is when people split up longer songs into short segments to rack up royalties.
It doesn't matter how good it is. It could be the absolute best possible music ever, both sensorially and technically, and it would still not matter !
Music is a human experience. Without an artist, there is nothing there. AI music can never be better than human music.
I would rather listen to an untalented toddler's first violin lesson on loop for an hour than to 30 seconds of AI slop.
I am once again recommending:
- Tidal: mainstream streaming platform you may already be familiar with, if you're shy about engaging with lesser-known ones
- Quobuz: mainstream streaming and digital downloads
- Bandcamp: some mainstream but mostly indie streaming and digital downloads
- local concerts
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So glad I left Spotify years ago. They will be a case study on how to destroy a brand, lose a leading market position, and eventually run the company into the ground
Seriously. I left after the ICE shit. Used to swear I'd never cancel.
Last week, the platform announced a new feature in which premium users will be allowed to create their own, AI-generated remixes and song covers using music from participating artists.
Can’t understand why anyone would want that.
If you want more music, then listen to new stuff, doesn’t Spotify have like almost all music ever created?
Also, ironically piracy doesn’t have this problem, torrents might end up being the most reliable way to get non slop content.
I take exception to the claim that AI-generated music is popular. I guarantee you those stats are misleading. Just like if you believe that all of the "views" on X are real, well, I have a bridge in Manhattan to sell you.
AI audiences pumping numbers for AI slop.
It's bots all the way down.
Left Spotify years ago after they spent hundreds of millions of dollars on anti vax podcasters. Tidal was fine for me, but then I kept coming across uploaded ai crap masquerading as legit established bands. So now on qobuz, but I miss the tailored to me recommendations. I'm considering just moving to a completely non-streaming solution - but I'm not tech savvy enough to know how to start.
Not sure how tech savvy you are but you could always buy music CDs. They are still a thing. You can also buy some pretty premium MP3 players if you know how to burn music CDs. Vinyl is also fun to collect. Browsing in a CD / vinyl shop is a great way to spend an afternoon
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Another piece of shit platform i never had any interest in is in the news for wildly fucked up reasons.
Hmm.
I deleted my spotify, tried apple music 3 month trial. They ransom my playlists but I have screen shots of it all. Ended up collecting a folder of my music I had and new songs I like. Transfer it to my iphone with Tinyftp(just what I found, probably better choices.) to vlc, created my playlists again, without the ransom or subscriptions.
Wasn't it not long ago that they were in the news because they had a spot of bother with people making AI music, and then using bots to run up the listen count for the royalties?
This hardly seems like it would fix the problem any.
Buying drm-free music works for me. It's more upfront cost, but eventually you have a big library of stuff you enjoy.
Fuck Spotify.
To he fair, ai slop is better than Spotifys fash podcasts...
It is a terribly low bar, yes.
I never once gave money to spotify and I have never felt more justified in my refusal to even visit their shitty platform out of curiosity.
Every time I see another article about Slopify I'm only more glad I spun up a Navidrome server last year. I love being able to support the artists I care about more directly by buying their music and actually owning it.
I did the math the other day, at the per stream payout rate Slopify gives their artists (~$.005), you would have to stream a song(s) 3,000 times to equal a single $15 album purchase. If you go with an average 3 minute song that's ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY HOURS. Fuckin scam.
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