I replaced Spotify with my own music library and found the catch

Published Nov 15, 2026, 10:30 AM EST Former radio and TV guy (I Heart Radio and PBS). Now a writer, researcher, and musician who writes about the absurdity of our modern world and other offbeat topics. Specializes in weird music, the old web, retro video games and tech, and researching strange, yet interesting things. His work has appeared in Vice, Tedium, Star Trek.com, Today I Found Out, Typebar, SyFy Wire, and How To Geek. Currently working on a variety of music, web, and writing projects. Visit him on the web at https://djbuckfreelance.neocities.org/. Using Spotify is a tough choice for me. There was a time when I liked the app itself as a way to listen to music locally (although VLC, MPV, and Clementine are better options; I was going through a phase, ok?). But I really don't like paying for streaming services. Occasionally, the convenience of it does get to me, and I'll use it once in a while. But I'm trying to quit. I've gotten really into self-hosting over the past few years, so I figured I'd start replacing Spotify with my own music library. It's fantastic, but I realized there's a bit of a catch. But it's nothing I can't handle. My bizarre back-and-forth with Spotify Why it took me a while to self-host my music collection I have a strange relationship with Spotify. At first, I thought it was pretty cool. Later, I changed my mind. But then they offered me a free 3-month trial to stream as much as I wanted. I begrudgingly accepted. Okay, I accepted it because it was free. I refuse to pay for Spotify, though. Some questionable UI choices and the constant removal of music I liked played a part. The increasing prices did, too. But there are also some concerns about how they use my data. And I really disliked the flood of AI slop music. Remember the Velvet Sundown fiasco from 2025? To quote MAD Magazine: "Bleeeeech!" I'm also not terribly keen on paying for a bunch of other streaming services either. It would seem I'm stuck in my physical media and digital listening phase indefinitely. For a long time, I simply loaded up an MP3 player or other device with my files and played them locally. Then I tried using YouTube's background listening function for a while. Later, I found Plexamp, which was fine for a while, but I ultimately didn't like it much. From there, I decided to embrace self-hosted services to just host my own music. Jellyfin quickly became my favorite one to use for music. It's one of those apps that handles music well and is easy to set up for playback on your network devices. I love it. But here's the catch to doing something this way. Well, actually, there are two. It's a hassle to maintain self-hosted music sometimes It takes time, space, and dedication One of the main selling points of streaming is convenience. When you're self-hosting, you have to acquire the music, process it, provide metadata (occasionally), curate it, and then have an always-on hard drive or NAS to hold everything. Don't misread me here. This is not a deal-breaker. At all. It's just an observation a few friends have shared with me when I ask them why they don't like to self-host. For me, personally, interacting with and organizing the files is quite enjoyable, not to mention relaxing. Nothing beats a well-organized file, with artists cataloged alphabetically, and their albums sorted chronologically. Also, skipping songs is unacceptable. Playlists are for casuals. I'll listen to the entirety of Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey despite my great dislike for "Mary, Queen of Arkansas." It's all part of the listening experience, and self-hosting lets me do that. But for anyone who isn't into self-hosting, doesn't have the time or energy to do it, or maybe just doesn't want to leave a server on all the time, it can definitely be a hassle. At that rate, it might be easier just to pull CDs from your shelf like in the old days. So I'd say that setup, maintenance, and storage space are the main catch of replacing a service like Spotify with your own music. I'm for it on a good day and think it's fantastic, but it makes me truly understand why other people find using a streaming service to be a better option. It can also be hard to find new music The lack of a discovery feed could be a potential downside Sometimes, it's a pain to find new music or even decide what to listen to. I once read a study conducted by Deezer that found that around age 30, you typically stop looking for new music or just sort of “settle in” to your listening habits. That's a survey result, though, not a universal scientific fact or law. But it does make an odd sort of sense. In the past, I'd hit flea markets, record stores, thrift shops, and artist websites. I used GEMM (The Global Electronic Music Marketplace, which no longer exists) and eBay all the time to acquire new music. Radio helped a lot. So did MTV, my guitar magazines, and the local library. When I used Spotify, it had a Discover feed, and some recommended albums that actually turned out to be pretty killer suggestions. With life so busy and fast-paced right now, I've noticed I'm not really finding anything new or getting any recommendations. I didn't think about it much until a recent Jellyfin session when I noticed the last time I added something new was months ago, and even then, it was a box set of Phish concerts I bought. In general, I'm not a fan of algorithms. I find it odd that some people don't just log into YouTube, Netflix, or even Spotify to watch or listen to a specific show/album, instead letting the algorithm take them where it leads. But I never realized that I actually kind of miss the Discover feed. I didn't expect that. Some folks, including me, have trouble finding new music. So that is definitely a “catch” of giving up Spotify for local music. But you know what? It's not a bad thing at all. I like the control and the nerdy aspect of it. I realize it isn't for everyone, but the catch of doing something like this isn't that bad at all. Nowadays, I've started taking an active role in searching for new music on platforms like Metafilter. I've found quite a few new artists through reading Acoustic Guitar magazine (I also subscribe to Guitar World and Guitarist) and doing research on bands I like and their influences. I also found a surprising place for discovery: the Internet Archive’s Live Music Archive. I'm also active on Discogs. Scrobbling services can also help people discover new music, but I haven't used one in a while, so I can't speak to it from personal experience. But none of that is as easy as just letting Spotify recommend something to you based on past listening. So, it's kind of a double-edged sword in that regard. The “catch” is actually the best part For anyone with a flair for self-hosting or an interest in ditching streaming services, the catch is well worth it. For those who desire convenience or don't mind paying for a stream, it might be too much for them. It ultimately comes down to what you want to do. I'll keep hosting music locally, at least until I get tired of it or get too busy to keep up. As I said before, I find the self-hosting and curating part exciting and relaxing. But sometimes it'd be nice to get a suggestion on occasion.