Comment by coldpie | Hacker News Reader

Comment by coldpie | Hacker News Reader

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> Can Spotify actually become human- and artist-first?

No, it can't. Its founder Daniel Ek is a war profiteer. He is by definition anti-human.

Spotify itself is actively anti-artist. It has the lowest pay rates in the industry and is embracing AI replacing humans so they can pay humans even less.

Stop using it and vote with your wallet. Literally any alternative you choose is an improvement for artists over Spotify.

If you are strict about anti-AI, you might find Bandcamp appealing. https://blog.bandcamp.com/2026/01/13/keeping-bandcamp-human/

More info:

https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/a-complete-guide-to-quit...

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/artists-le...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Spotify

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ek

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsing_(company)

> Literally any alternative you choose is an improvement

Counterintuitive to me would be (1) not listening at all, or (2) torrenting.

I suppose choosing (1) means Spotify has less leverage over the artist, but to the detriment of the artist since they don’t get that fraction of a cent. Additionally, that also means one less pair of ears discovering the artist.

I suppose at least with torrenting the discovery aspect is preserved.

Both of those options are better because they don't involve giving your money to Spotify.

Big Bandcamp fan, I get almost all my music from there. But their AI removal (well, or piracy removal for that matter) is rather lacking. Any action takes over a week, sometimes more. Just like with clear piracy (pre release leaks have been up for months), and when they do, they just remove it, whoever bought it is out of luck.

I love the site, but they have a long way to go.

They have been great for what I use them for, occasion niche discoveries, but I'm not sure they replace Spotify for the "hop in my car and my favorite mainstream hits begin playing without having to think too hard about it" use case.

Oh yeah, it's not for that at all. I only listen to albums, so I don't need that. Heard people using listenbrainz recs for similar things

Isn't that what FM radio is for?

It certainly was, but unfortunately FM radio has gotten pretty awful around me (which I find strange because we are in a fairly densely populated area).

The only thing I listen to on the radio regularly are baseball games.

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