7/12/26 - 9/12/26

why this for a poll?

Okay, so, I'm sure most of you had at least seen my iPod page on here (if not, check the sitemap OR look to your left,literally the link is there) & I genuienly wanted to see WHY people haven't moved away from such platforms!

Not in a way to like shame others or tell them "erm I'm better than you"--absolutely not. Everyone is in different circumstances & something that may seem easy to me could be a lot more tasking for others. Not to mention any barriers of entry, such as paying for an MP3 player etc etc.

& I am going to say I am pleasantly surprised with how many responses I got! Thank you all that answered! I really appreciate it & you make it possible for me to compile the results like this!

Now, lets get to this poll's results!

RESULTS



Total Participants - 17
Breakdown -

• Piracy Scary - 2 Votes (11.8%)
• Convenience - 9 Votes (52.9%)
• Can't afford MP3 Player/iPod/etc - 0 Votes (0%)
• Haven't explored other options - 1 Vote (5.9%)
• What's wrong with those platforms? - 0 Votes (0%)
• Other (answer in chatbox!) - 2 Votes (11.8%)
• I have left these platforms for a better, ethical option! (share in chatbox!) - 3 Votes (17.6%)

Unfortunately those that said Other or that they've left these platforms already never mentioned where they went or what they meant by other, so whatever they meant or what they're using now I/we don't know. (Frammy if you're reading this I sort of remember yours but the chatbox deleted it for some reason so I don't have it ToT my apologies)

Also I'm very happy that no one said they don't know what makes these platforms bad, so there's acknowledgement there that these platforms aren't the most ethical--but it's that they're convenient! Which I totally get!

Which brings me to Convenience being the biggest category. I'm not surprised, but I'm glad people were honest about it! I used Spotify since I was in 8th grade (~2018) so I get it when it's hard to find or stick with an alternative!

Plus, I'm just gonna brush past it since it's the minority of votes--I'm sorry to break it to you but EVERYONE & I mean PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE pirates nowadays.

It's not really a taboo, like I remember when I was a senior in highschool (2022-2023) kids were told to stop using "free movie" sites on their Chromebooks. Not because it was piracy, no, but because it was distracting them from schoolwork. UNLESS YOU MAKE YOURSELF INCREDIBLY KNOWN. NO ONE WILL FIND OUT. Or it's something egregious or you're distributing stuff, which gives you a higher chance of receiving repercussions.

Plus if you're that spooked, Proton has a free VPN you can use. Turn it on when you want to download your music/shows/etc. I promise the pigs aren't just waiting for you to download a car to come & break down your door. I think they're too busy being useless

& I get it, I know music feels a little more intimate because you know who's singing it/writing it/making it/etc. ,but I want you to hear me when I say this

1. are they a big artist?
if yes, I can assure you, they can still live without more money. Celebrity culture is toxic, bad ,& although I believe people should be compensated for the art they make, I do believe there's no reason why a musician should be a multimillionare. Plus you do not know these people/person/etc. For all you know in a year or so they could be clubbing seals for fun. Do not put your heart & soul into a creator--no one is infallable.

2. are they a smaller/indie artist?
If yes, there are ways you can support them without listening to their stuff on platforms which have BEEN PROVEN to give them little to NOTHING based on your listening (literal pennies).

BUY CDS, VINYLS, FUCKING CASETTES--EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING YOU CAN LISTEN TO THEM ON! Fuck--even shirts, hats, stickers, butt plugs! Then you'd be supporting them in a more SUBSTANTIAL way without giving money & time to some company who 99% of the time will hardly give anything to your favorite, little artist.

& this isn't to be mean--I know people have souls, unlike myself! I think it's very virtuous to want to support your favorite little artist! Just know you'd be better off putting your money in better avenues to support them & encourage them to make more stuff. Plus I already gave my rant about celebrities--that ALSO goes for the small fries as well.

NOW. Why am I getting on this soap box?

I don't know if you'd believe this, but music means a lot to me. A WHOLE lot. So believe me when I say I have tried to listen to music I like in SO many different ways over the years. Even pressing a bad MP3 player up against a TV speaker to record Cannibal by Ke$ha so I can listen to it on the go.

I have also PAID for these platforms to have no ADS, have spent countless hours listening to music on them, & so on & so forth.

but I believe my money, & your money & TIME is better spent ELSEWHERE.

Especially now with people being more & more into diling back on technology & going into things like physical media, I think it's a great time to FIND these alternatives & do research to do it in an affordable way.

For example, my older sister recently asked me to send her a link to the iPod I bought! Which I think is awesome for her to be interested, but I decided against that & went to find her a more afforable & accessible MP3 option.

"But Lee, don't YOU have an iPod you use regularly?"

YES! But I think I can acknowledge that it was NOT a cheap investment. When I got mine is was about ~$175 (USD), looking on Elite Obsolete Electronics (the site I got my iPod), to get a model SIMILAR to the one I have is around or ABOVE $250 (USD). THAT'S INSANE!

Not to mention if you don't like wired headphones & want Bluetooth. Either you go find someone who has put a Bluetooth adapter in the iPod (which will cost extra because that's a custom mod) OR, you do what I did, & buy an expensive adapter that WORKS, yeah, but was ALSO over $100.

SO. Why do I still stand by it? Because I would've been putting THAT MUCH MONEY into a Spotify Premium subscription over time rather than these 1 time purchases!

I hate math, but let me give you an example.

I cancelled my premium subscription around 2024. I was paying monthly, so for an individual account, at that time, that's $10.99/month (USD). That, however, is for a normal user! I was a student, so for cheaper I got the student plan, but I will include both for relation! The student plan cost was $5.99/month (USD) at that time.

for a year on the normal individual, monthly plan, that comes out to $131.88 (USD), NOT including potential taxes

for a year on the student monthly plan, that comes out to $71.88 (USD).

I'm estimating because I do not recall the EXACT price, but for both my bluetooth adaptor & iPod, it would've been around $294 (USD).

294 divided by 5.99 is around 49.08. Rounding that to the whole number & dividing 49 by 12, that would be AROUND 4 years of Spotify Premium. NOT including potential hiking of prices & unavailability of certain types of subscriptions.

If I do this for the STANDARD monthly plan, take 297, divide by 10.99, & it comes out to 27.02. Rounding to the whole number & dividing that by 12 you get 2 & 1/4 of a year on the standard monthly plan. Also not including changes, etc.

I know this is specifically for Spotify, but that's the only one I've had experience with, but this can go for any subscription based model against a 1-time-purchase.

In a world & economy(ies) that have become increasingly more volitile, I think rather than blowing what could be considered chump change one moment but gradually build over time to HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS of dollars--I think you're better off doing the one time purchase for CONTINUED enjoyment & convenience.

Because they have manufactured convenience that WE THINK is convenient IN THE MOMENT. It prays on the shortening attention spans & lack of future sight & entices you to pay. I am taking classes about business & shit--I think you all are smart enough to understand that most of this stuff is predatory to an extent.

WHICH IS WHY I want to try & shorten the journey for you all by PROVIDING resources to get started on your journey to ditch these platforms!

MP3 Players

If you are dead set on getting an iPod, by all means get one. I highly recommend Elite Obsolete Electronics because they refurbish their models & also provide supplementary parts & materials if you want to tinker with your iPod!

Not that platforms like Ebay or any other second hand outlet is bad, but the hardware could have aged overtime & the batteries could be poor, dying screens, & so on could be happening to the device. Not to mention price hiking as this has become more & more popular of an investment. So if you're interested in more cheapter alternatives, don't fear! I've got you!

Innioasis is a great iPod alternative that gives the same vibe while being significantly cheaper! This is the model I recommended to my older sister! It has a USB-C charging port & bluetooth compatibility! & for reference, my iPod has 80 GB os storage. On Amazon specificially, you can get a 128 GB model for just over 80 bucks. That's a steal compared to the 170+ I paid!

If you collect CD's, there's no shortage of CD player's out there! It's almost pretty inexpensive to buy blanks & burn your own CD's! I think the most you'd be paying for is a driver, but the burner I have saved is about ~$20 (USD), so I'd say that's pretty affordable!

Acquiring Music

Now on my iPod page I have some sites that I use already linked, but I'll go ahead & put them here for convenience!

Spotify Downloader
all you gotta do is copy the link of the song on Spotify & put it in here! Sometimes doesn't work, so be sure to have alternatives to rip such as

YTMP3
pretty similar to Spotify Downloader, just copy the link of the video as if sharing it & punch it in here! You can also transport them into MP4's if you so wish!

There are lots of other sites out there, but these are the ones I specifically use! Again, I highly encourage you do your own searching! You never know when you find something better that meets your specific needs!

So What Now?
Final Remarks

First of all, if you read through all of this, thank you so much!

It's not the most organized research effort nor response, but I do feel passionately about these things & I hope you least come away from this with a little more knowledge! Or a reason to throw rocks at my window.

These platforms, companies, & so on are always trying to get you spend your money somehow. Whether it be manufacturing convenience, producing false scarcity, & so on--& they prey on the fact that...financial literacy really isn't taught anymore. Which I feel is deliberate.

Either way we're going to have to spend money. WHERE we put it, though, is important, & whether or not we even spend it in the ways they want in the first place.

I could make an argument about ANY subscription service, but there's no reason as to why you're paying to have the privilege of not hearing fucking ADS. Or being able to pick WHATEVER song you wanna listen to. Why get used to a model you don't even have to put up with? Though they prey on the fact it's... probably not the easiest to do or straightforward!

Though there are guides out there, I promise--& I'm sure if you asked people how they do their thing--fuck, ask ME how I do my thing & you never know if they'll share the magic! I'm tired of the constant bombardment of Ads, the push to make you spend money that sometimes people don't even HAVE, & it just really sours experiences that are supposed to be enjoyable, relaxing, or entertaining.

They get you through the convenience, the laziness, the lack of drive, lack of resources, & so on--don't let them make you think you can't ENJOY your listening & watching experiences! Get those CDs, get that MP3 player, & FUUUUUCK these platforms!

Be smart & savvy, friends!
Thank you for reading & participating!

till next time! ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

POST MORTEM THOUGHTS

"Lee, why are you back?"

DON'T ASK ME SILLY QUESTIONS!
but in all seriousness--I was sitting in my accounting class today & a thought came to me about doing this & I totally neglected something.

Yeah, it's one thing to make the more affordable "in the long run" action, but what does this have to do with music? To LISTENING to music? That's what we're HERE for & using this shit for anyway! What makes listening to music on these platforms DIFFERENT from on an MP3 or CD player??

THAT, my friends, is what I want & should've answered when I initially made this!

A kinda offtopic thing, but I promise it's relevant, but some of you may have seen how Sony is aiming to stop ALL physical production of games in early 2028. Now what does this have to do with music? Well, if ALL the games you're buying are in a digital format, one day Sony could decide that they don't want their customers to have this game anymore! For whatever reason! & remove it from your library & the store & you'd not longer have this game you probably spent ~$70-$80 (USD) on.

Sound unfair? Well this is what they're pushing for. Not just gaming, but in other media formats.

Streaming--they could remove a movie or show one day & you wouldn't have anywhere that's "legal" to access & watch it without buying DVD's/blurays. BUT EVEN THEN some (maybe most, but I don't want to assume) platform original shows NEVER GET physical releases! So there! There's NO way to watch this thing you like!

They don't want you to own the media you pay for or "rent" through streaming. Who's to say this couldn't become an issue with these music streaming services?? Yeah, you may be renting through something like Spotify or OWN your music like through Apple--but Apple could just rip that away from you & you wouldn't have the power to potentially get a refund or ever get it back! Isn't the idea of that shitty???

I'm going to give you an example of a song that I love that either ISN'T on some streaming platforms OR is inconsistently there.

Mercenary by Panic! at The Disco is a song Panic did for the game, Batman: Arkham City. Due to liscening issues, the song is either entirely not on some music platforms, such as Spotify, or inconsistently available--like I've read for Apple Music. That sucks! Yeah, I could listen to it on something like Youtube or shudders Soundcloud--but I don't WANT to have to do that!

I would like to have this song in a playlist or on my device so that it plays at some point in my rotation! I don't think that's a monumental ask! Now I get this is like a "first world" problem, but don't you get where I'm coming from?

Having an MP3 or somewhere where you actually HAVE the files of your music means I have the song & I can listen to it whenever I want! & That's awesome! No more hopping between platforms when I want to listen to it, I just HAVE it! Imagine what it would be like if I just had NO WHERE to listen to it? I was just out of luck? That could happen with any song from any artist! I just don't think it's worth the risk of waiting for it to happen!

Furthermore, as I've said, music means a lot to me. I have a building CD collection from artists & albums I like, along with the files I own of songs That are in my regular rotation. I feel like there's just a lot more intimate relationship with your music when you have this kind of perspective on it.

I can pop it in a CD player, flip through the album book that's in the case, listen through the entirety of the piece they put together with no interruptions of ads OR throwing money away on an unnecessary subscription. This is MY CD! Plus, if you burn CD's, you could always make YOUR OWN album decoration! Just get a pack of jewel cases & get some paper & go ham!

Not to mention having, for example, my iPod & I've got it hooked up in my car & I can just drive for a couple of hours & just enjoy my music. Plus you're so much more deliberate on WHAT songs you listen to, where you get them, what songs from an album you put on there or not--instead of some algorithm deciding what you "might" like or just giving you AI slop. It's purposeful, it's genuine, & HUMAN decisions!

To put it simply, you are ACTIVELY listening to music rather than PASSIVELY.

Yeah, you can curate your own playlists on something like Spotify, but what songs do you put on it? The app can suggest you songs to go on it. Do you use that to help? Plus it's not like you CAN'T make playlists on something like an MP3 player! I personally don't make them, I just shuffle my library, but the option is still there! It's more of a process picking songs & being purposeful with what you choose! I think that's so important & those little moments & processes it seems people take for granted.

I know I've kinda broadly stroked at things, but I felt like these were important to go back & clarify.

I wish I had the videos on hand, but I've seen people on Youtube describe what I'm trying to convey so much better, but I promise this isn't something I'd recommend if I didn't think it was so much more beneficial than the manufactured convenience of these platforms/apps.

Which is why I recommend doing your own research!
You look up iPod on Youtube & there are dozens of videos of people explaining WHY they went back & even those about other MP3's, CD collecting, DVD collecting--& so on!

I don't believe people are wholly doing this for the "trend". I have genuienly been happier & more appreciative of these things since putting in the effort & interest into acquiring this media so that I don't have to search if these songs or show is on some platform when I can just pop it in & watch/listen.

& who knows! you might become just as obnoxious as me about it!
ꉂꉂ(ᵔᗜᵔ*)

ALRIGHT. FOR REAL THIS TIME. I'M DONE!
see you guys! ദ്ദി( • ᴗ < )