May 19, 2026 – Trying out Spotify again, and my thoughts on streaming

My dad has recently been tapping into the streaming service Spotify, and he’s enjoyed it so much that he sent me a 3-month free trial period. So, this is not my first time using Spotify. I used it here and there years ago, I think during my college years, but after hearing so much about how it and other streaming services ripped off musicians by barely paying a smidgen of a cent, I ditched it. I felt a lot of guilt for using it, and basically vowed to abstain from streaming all together.

But, the way my dad described the platform as helping him discover a plethora of great bands that he otherwise wouldn’t have known about caused me to adjust my thinking a bit. On one hand, I’ve been dealing with a bit of “subscription fatigue” in the recent months, going as far as to cancel Netflix and a few other services. I’ll admit, having endless options of content can be overwhelming, even stressful at times. Borrowing from the library has become a favorite way of renting both movies and music, since it offers a wide variety of choices without becoming overwhelming. That said, the library music options are more limited, which further motivated me to give Spotify another try.

And so far, I’ve been enjoying it! One thing I like about it is that it automatically starts playing artists similar to what you’re currently listening to, which gets rid of the hassle of endlessly scrolling through lists of bands and artists. I used it recently to check out new music from Crown Lands along with albums by Greta Van Fleet, Interpol, and Foster the People.

I began to think of ways I could practice, what I call “responsible streaming.” That is, I could use it as a way to discover new acts or preview new albums from acts that I like, but not as a substitute for buying the album and supporting the artist. It’s the same approach I take with buying movies and TV shows. I think by now we all know that streaming services, be it for music or visual media, can be unpredictable. Content can be removed from these services at any time, and you never truly “own” what you stream. There’s also potential for content to be altered or censored when they’re on streaming platforms, though I’ve mostly noticed this with visual media instead of music. But that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen with music. All of the CDs, vinyl, and Blu ray discs I own are mine to keep and play whenever I want, without worry of losing access to them, or having them censored.