So, imagine I’m using any sort of streaming server. Is there ANY of them that have the ability to suggest new stuff, which is the number 1 and only reason I still use Spotify?
If anyone could answer this including the setup they have to run it, that would be awesome.
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It’s quite unlikely that a self-hosted music streaming server could give you suggestions of music not in your library without an external service. But there might be some alternatives to Spotify that can address some of the economic injustices in music streaming, just like self-hosted and free/libre/open-source software can address some injustices that damage user privacy and data sovereignty in centralized services.
While not strictly about streaming, I find Bandcamp quite nice for discovering new music. As a bonus, bands receive much more money if you purchase their music than what they’d get when streamed on a service like Spotify. (Note that, in aggregate, a band may nevertheless earn more from mainstream platforms if they are streamed a lot but listeners aren’t willing to purchase. Be sure to buy music that you like if you have the means to do so! Not only it helps bands to create more awesome music, you can also listen to downloaded digital files after the demise of centralized streaming platforms.)
Worryingly, Epic Games purchased Bandcamp last year. However, the fate of the platform looks at least somewhat safe, since its workers recently managed to unionize despite initial union-busting by corporate.
Another laternative would be Resonate, which is run as a co-op and has a novel approach to music purchases and paying bands. However, their collection can currently be a bit sparse, depending on which genres you’re interested in.
Plex does alright at suggesting music from your own library, and also has some really nice DJ-like song transitions that are legitimately way better than any other track fades. However, Plex users have been frustrated with the company’s slow response to fixing long-standing bugs, and some of the features are paid. It’s also not open-source.
No idea if it can suggest music that isn’t in your library; I know that they integrate with Tidal though, so maybe if you have that it’ll also suggest stuff from Tidal?
Ditch Plex and get Jellyfin. Use Symfonium to play your music on your phone.
I’ve used Plex, Jellyfin, and Navidrome. I’m currently using Navidrome, but Plexamp is a massively better product for discovering/interacting with your library. The sonic analysis really takes it to another level.
I currently use Tidal. Lacks some of the DnB albums I liked on Spotify, but at least has proper audio quality.
This isn’t reddit, read the whole post before suggesting just another streaming service.
