It might be unfathomable to consider leaving paid streaming music services
However, it’s a lot easier than you might think.
NOTE: This is for people like myself who don’t have massive libraries, don’t listen to tons of new music but rather have tried and true go-to’s as well as find Spotify’s open page to be horrendously chaotic and noisy.
As services hike the price over and over, while providing no apparent benefit, you can cut ties altogether with platforms like Spotify.
Here’s how:
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Use a browser like Brave to block ads
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Download/buy/“find (fell off a truck)” the few artists/albums that you consistently listen to on repeat. For the rest, albums you’re not too fussed about owning — create a note on your computer that syncs with your phone.
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List out the artists and albums you care about. I like to put release date as well.
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Go on YouTube.com and find that artists page. They will almost always have a page where they include their album as a playlist. Link to that playlist in your notes. Voila, whenever you want ot listen just open your note, find what you what and hit play. Brave Browser will block ads.
Here’s a snippet of how my note is organized:
My Music
Upcoming Album Releases
February 13, 2026 - JP Cooper - Just a few folk
My Library
Callum Scott - Only Human (2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6fKFBdTZ3Y&list=PL0GLGJaTG0CN3rWeQqIoXIXj594mqNsoq
Fun - Some Nights (2012)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHM5aoiZ4Ws&list=PLPlCeFqZDUznObY_PffxvIFIgdTEipIgp
Maroon 5 - It won’t be soon before long (2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19uoaAVBLto&list=PLCal0DIfsRsHmqVzKku0buKRE9ni55yfI
Sam Smith - Live at the BBC Proms (2024)
https://youtu.be/rroNnDTNfLs?si=_Vq4d1yINRzXGijb
Etc.