It’s actually really easy if you just invest in a Synology NAS. You can install the music server package with a few clicks and copy music to the folder, then open a port on your firewall and the Synology music app streams it. Pretty nifty
Doesn't even need to be Synology. Plenty of solutions that can be installed on your own "open" hardware (old PC, mini PC or just a more powerful server)
As a Spotify user, I'm not really ok with how much they pay artists... But I don't use Spotify for "streaming" even though I stream a lot from them, I use it to discover new music, find obscure bands, their algorithm is amazing at that.
I could easily selfhost as you suggested, but then it would be my own music bubble.
I go to concerts and buy merchandise as much as possible when I want to support an artist.
7digital has a reasonable selection, but it's not all available lossless, which would be almost incomprehensible in 2023 if it wasn't for the fact that we're talking about the music industry.
NetEase Music. It's a spotify clone from China, and the VIP version costs like $1.20 a month.
It doesn't spy on your phone and requires zero permissions (I've tested this extensively), but you will need a VPN set to China, Hong Kong or Taiwan for it to work (assuming you don't live in either place).
I'm in China and work as head of IT security for a European company. As such I monitor my phone religiously for any transgressions. Netease Music works with zero permissions (unless you want to use the downloader) and doesn't try to exfiltrate any data whatsoever.
Install PCAPdroid and see for yourself, you can monitor all traffic on system level on a per app basis.
definitely. You're absolutely right, Spotify is a privacy nightmare and I didn't say otherwise.
The post I was replying to was arguing that the service they were using was private, I just told them that even if the app doesn't need any permissions they still have the ability to spy on their users and most probably do so.
And how, prey tell, should a music streaming service that delivers suggestions based on your preferences deliver content if not by analyzing your listening behavior?
If you're afraid of that, then there's no music service whatsoever you can use.