I've never liked Spotify—I choose a music streaming service that lets me own my songs

Published Jul 25, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT Bertel is a lifelong tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience writing thousands of articles about Android devices, Linux, and more. Before joining the How-To Geek team, Bertel wrote for the likes of MakeUseOf, MakeTechEasier, and Android Police—at the latter he wrote over 3,500 articles. He delights in helping others decide which tech to bring into their lives... and which tech to do without. Bertel graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2012 with degrees in History and Government. He has spent his entire career as a tech journalist covering Android, Linux, wearables, smart home devices, and more. Streaming has taken over the music industry, and Spotify has come out as the champion—but it's lost a lot of love along the way. I personally want a streaming service that provides a better experience both for me and for artists, one where I still have the option to actually buy music to call my own. My favorite streaming service is Bandcamp A platform whose brand is empowering artists Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek Bandcamp is a music platform whose business model centers around supporting musicians. Creators can set rates and get a predictable amount from each sale. Many artists also opt into a pay-what-you-can model, allowing listeners to download music for free or purchase tracks for buckets of money if they want to show extra support. For many artists, it offers a balance between wanting more people to have access to their music while also not wanting to just give it all away. Bandcamp is also designed around the reality that most musicians do not make their money from streaming and music sales alone. Singers and bands can sell physical versions as well as merch directly through the site. Quiz 8 Questions · Test Your KnowledgeMusic streaming servicesTrivia challengeFrom Spotify to Tidal — test how well you know the biggest names in music streaming.SpotifyApple MusicTidalYouTube MusicAmazon MusicBegin In what year was Spotify officially launched to the public?A2006B2007C2008D2010Correct! Spotify launched publicly in October 2008, founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in Sweden. It started with an invite-only model before opening to broader audiences.Not quite — Spotify launched in October 2008. Though the company was founded in 2006, it took two years of development before it was ready for public release.Continue Which music service did Apple acquire in 2014 to help build Apple Music?ARdioBPandoraCBeats MusicDRhapsodyThat's right! Apple acquired Beats Electronics — including Beats Music — for $3 billion in 2014. The streaming technology and talent from Beats Music became the foundation for Apple Music, which launched in 2015.The correct answer is Beats Music. Apple's $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics in 2014 brought not just the headphone brand but also a streaming service that Apple retooled into Apple Music, launched in June 2015.Continue Which artist-owned collective famously relaunched Tidal in 2015 with a star-studded press event?AJay-Z and a group of music artistsBKanye West and Universal MusicCTaylor Swift and Republic RecordsDBeyoncé and Sony MusicCorrect! Jay-Z purchased Tidal through his company Project Panther and relaunched it in March 2015 alongside artists including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kanye West, and Madonna. The goal was to create an artist-owned streaming alternative.The answer is Jay-Z and a group of music artists. Jay-Z bought Tidal for $56 million and relaunched it in 2015 with a high-profile event featuring co-owner artists like Rihanna, Kanye West, and Beyoncé all holding hands on stage.Continue YouTube Music replaced which previous Google music streaming service when it became the default in 2020?AGoogle Play MusicBGoogle SoundsCGoogle TuneDPixel MusicSpot on! Google Play Music was officially shut down in late 2020, with YouTube Music taking over as Google's primary music streaming platform. Users were encouraged to transfer their libraries and preferences to YouTube Music.The correct answer is Google Play Music. Google ran two overlapping music services for years before finally retiring Google Play Music in 2020 and consolidating everything under YouTube Music.Continue Which Amazon Music tier offers a free, ad-supported listening experience with limited on-demand features?AAmazon Music BasicBAmazon Music FreeCAmazon Music LiteDAmazon Music PrimeCorrect! Amazon Music Free is the ad-supported tier that gives listeners access to a curated selection of music without a subscription fee. It offers limited on-demand listening compared to the paid Prime and Unlimited tiers.The right answer is Amazon Music Free. Amazon offers several tiers — Free (ad-supported), Prime (included with Amazon Prime), and Unlimited (full catalog access) — each with increasing levels of on-demand functionality.Continue What is the name of Spotify's AI-powered feature that creates a personalized playlist every Monday based on your listening history?AWeekly MixBDiscover WeeklyCMonday MoodDFresh FindsExactly right! Discover Weekly launched in 2015 and became one of Spotify's most beloved features. It uses machine learning to analyze your listening habits and generate a 30-track playlist of songs you haven't heard but are likely to enjoy.The answer is Discover Weekly. Launched in 2015, this Monday playlist became a massive hit for Spotify — within its first year, over 1.7 billion tracks were streamed from Discover Weekly playlists alone.Continue Tidal is particularly known for offering which audio quality feature that sets it apart from many competitors?ASpatial audio onlyBLossless and hi-fi audio streamingC8D audio processingDAI-mastered audio tracksRight! Tidal built its brand around offering lossless FLAC and hi-fi audio quality, appealing to audiophiles who want the highest fidelity streaming experience. Its HiFi Plus tier even supports Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) tracks.The correct answer is lossless and hi-fi audio streaming. Tidal has long positioned itself as the premium choice for audiophiles, offering lossless FLAC streams and MQA masters at quality levels beyond standard compressed audio.Continue Approximately how many songs does Apple Music claim to have in its streaming library as of 2024?A50 millionB70 millionC100 millionD150 millionCorrect! Apple Music boasts a catalog of over 100 million songs, making it one of the largest music libraries available on any streaming platform. This gives it an edge in niche genres and rare recordings compared to some rivals.The answer is 100 million songs. Apple Music has grown its catalog aggressively and now claims over 100 million tracks — significantly more than early streaming catalogs, which typically hovered around 30 to 50 million songs.See My Score Challenge CompleteYour Score/ 8Thanks for playing!Try Again All that said, Bandcamp’s brand isn't as strong as it once was. Epic Games purchased Bandcamp in 2022 and then sold it to Songtradr in 2023. Along the way, many employees lost their jobs despite successful efforts to unionize. All of this put off artists and listeners alike. But since Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music hardly have better reputations, I still tend to stick with Bandcamp on my Moto Razr Fold. Motorola Razr Fold Motorola's Razr Fold (2026) is its first book-style foldable Android phone, offering high-end performance and cameras. Bandcamp is a place where I can still buy and download music This sets it apart from most other streaming platforms I get the appeal of streaming, but I prefer to purchase MP3s. I grew up in the era of the iPod and other less well-known MP3 players. I like building up my collection over time and seeing what the curation says about me, which feels personal in a way streaming never has. I can see the person I've been and how my listening habits have changed, not by waiting for Spotify Wrapped each year but by reflecting on the albums I have and the changing nature of what I tend to buy. Bandcamp is a place where I can buy music outright and download the MP3 files DRM-free. That's an option unavailable on Spotify and YouTube Music. The remaining MP3 stores still standing are Amazon Music and Apple Music, and the latter is not ideal for me as someone who has never owned an Apple device. I listen to most of my music using a local music app. I’m quite fond of both Lotus and Symphony, two fully open-source options available on F-Droid that each sport a Material You design. I like the way my music listening experience can feel fundamentally different just by changing which app I use to access the same files. But when I want to listen to music that I don't currently have downloaded, I like that I can open the Bandcamp app and stream any song that I've purchased as well. Bandcamp is home to the kind of music I enjoy I find it to be a great place to discover more Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek There's a catch to Bandcamp—the major labels do not put their music on the platform. You're not going to find Taylor Swift or Kendrick Lamar. But Bandcamp is sort of a de facto haven for independent artists and smaller labels. As someone who primarily enjoys instrumental music, it works well for me. Labels like Lo-Fi Girl and Chillhop Records both upload their songs to Bandcamp. Through Bandcamp, I've discovered the neoclassical label Moderna Records as well as Ambient Soundscapes, which has become the first source I check for ambient music. When I want vocals or more intense energy, I turn to Monstercat, a label I discovered on YouTube but whose catalog is available on Bandcamp. Bandcamp is also a good spot to hit up for video game soundtracks. I have purchased music from games like Haven and The Last Campfire. I also regularly stream songs from Cyberpunk 2077. There’s a better chance you can find a game's soundtrack on Steam, but music from Bandcamp comes with consistent metadata and a file naming structure that sometimes make buying albums there worth the extra few bucks. The Bandcamp app opens to a feed of new releases alongside a social media feed of the artists I follow. Then there's a section with curated radio stations. While I've never been a fan of either terrestrial or internet radio, I sometimes dip in as a way to discover new songs. Though I tend to find that I organically discover new music as I browse and purchase the music I already know I like. Bandcamp likely can't be your only music app Every now and then, I do want to listen to a song that isn't available on Bandcamp. For those times, I typically turn to YouTube Music, entirely because it comes included as part of our YouTube family plan. I don't care that YouTube Music doesn't quite live up to Spotify because I only open this app when I want to play an exact song. Otherwise, Bandcamp is where I thrive. It's my music streaming home.