internet radios
This week, I got infuriated by Spotify.
While driving home and listening to a podcast, I got surprised with announcements right when the speaker was introducing his arguments on how the new North American administration is aiming to divide and conquer the world with the other 2 superpowers and how it could affect me in the near future.
I felt like I was jumped. I recklessly opened my phone while driving on the highway to double-check if my wife perhaps missed paying the monthly Duo subscription - all checked.
Later on, I have learned that the podcast host can introduce ads if they deem fit for the listener to go through. The bonus is that if you pay for Spotify Premium, you can skip them or speed them up. But I had to question: Is that fair? We were already paying for the service, which sells itself by removing the ads from the app, but then... more ads? Just because I wasn't listening to music but to podcasts, then suddenly it seems like I haven't paid already for the service?
We've seen that happen to other platforms, such as Netflix and HBO Max. These greedy companies can't get tired of enshittifying their platforms and fucking users over their money.
You pay for the product, and you are still the product.
This made me go scrambling for alternatives. I had come to Spotify in the first place because the small amount I was paying for the service was a fair price for high-quality music files on the go. But their greedy ass policies don't seem to get enough of our money, and they think that if they do that, what are we going to do? Go back to pirating YouTube files on YouTube-to-MP3 applications? Starve to death without their incredibly shitty algorithm that can't recommend 2 relevant songs out of a list of 30 that they accumulate on their Discover Weekly playlist?
After the rage had settled, I remembered my Las Vegas trip in 2024, attending DEFCON where I saw some people spinning records in the middle of the main venue on the LVCC. They were representing soma.fm, an Internet radio that is listener-supported and commercial-free. Opening up their website, I was surprised to see that they had their own DEF CON Radio station and a station dedicated to my favorite genre of all time, IDM. I was even surprised to see Aphex Twin on number 1 at This Week's Top Artists.
That felt right to me.
I have been listening to Soma over my phone and during the day while I work, and I was not disappointed. I found out new songs, wasn't interrupted a single time over advertising, and felt like I was supporting people that really cared about transmitting feelings through music.
Companies do not hold their users' hostage. It is moral and right to search for other services if you feel like your favorite big tech company is fucking you over. They had done this many times already. It is up to us if we are going to let it slide. Platforms in the past that treated their users badly had been left to die but ONLY because users have kept them in check and accountable on their enshittifiying policies. If suddenly users find it easy to leave, platforms wouldn't become as shitty as they are today.
Be part of the change. And support your local web radio station.
A huge shout-out to Rusty Hodge on cliqhop idm.