For Krawczeniuk, the move away from Spotify after eight years was partly inspired by the realisation that by using open source software, a home server and a VPN on his phone, he could build something similar himself.

I did this as well. Very happy with it. Using Nextcloud Music and Subsonic.

He sees moving away from Big Streaming as connected to a broader movement towards small-scale tech projects and open-source services that are not resource- or energy-intensive.

Not sure if it is less resource intensive though, if everyone has their own storage?

Very interesting article. I think it’s true they that streaming music services tend to make passive listening to easy. I remember the days of getting a new album, playing it while I read the liner notes, checked out the cover art and listening intently to the lyrics. Now it’s too easy to play something, anything while I cook dinner, get ready for work…

I do like SiriusXM. I appreciate the curated approach. DJs that spin the music, adding their own take on a particular track and comments. It tends to break up the passive listening and listen more closely.

I sympathize with this experience, but I’m not quite sure why you “need” to quit your streaming services in order to achieve the desired effect. I almost exclusively use Spotify, but I use it to listen to new releases from artists I like, listen to way more albums then I could afford to buy physically, and check out music my friends recommend to me. You don’t have to use streaming services as a playlist aggregator, there’s nothing stopping you from actively enjoying music on there.