I am sure most of you might be aware that Google plans to bans the simple act of sideloading [though I presume adb driven sideloading remains] on it’s platform in name of security. At the same time Play Store itself remains riddled with malware. However, here I wish to throw light on a different rising case of apps, a set that actually deserves to be pirated.
With the start of the so called subscription driven economy where one time purchases are becoming a thing of the past,everything needs to be a subscription. Some things like a newspaper make sense, a music tracking app does not. Let us turn our eyes to Stats.fm. It aims to link to Spotify/Apple Account and present data in good format. It was a one time purchase back in the day when I barely used Spotify, so I got the legit version. Spotify usually retails for INR [Indian National Rupee] 1200 per year but was retailing for 500 as an initial promotional scheme last week. Fed up with the mess that YT Music is [Yes, I do hoard music via Soulseek as well], I thought why not give Spotify a try. So, I installed both the streaming app and this fancy scrobbling service which as I repeat, was a one time purchase linked to a Google account.
As soon as I open the app, I am told I need to subscribe [bait and switch]. To put salt on wound, their cheapest plans were INR 750 for 6 months, which ironically is equivalent to YT Premium [when equating to per year]. So, what is basically a Last.fm clone with little third party support [Last.fm offers a largely working free tier and has open APIs that make it work with third party plugins/clients] and now did a classic bait; is it not ethical to pirate such kind of stuff?
I would go on a limb and say that Google actually has a case for asking money for YT Premium since they offer 2 services : music and video streaming [yes, the apps are shit, I know that] which incur server costs. But am I to truly believe that equivalent server costs are incurred by err,a music tracking app that ONLY tracks one music client?
As Cory Doctrow coined the term enshittification, we are heading down that route. I am sure many more apps would have done that bait and switch. [I even saw an Wear OS watch face as a yearly subscription option once].
You must log in or # to comment.
Google is doing much more than banning user app installation, they are going to ban abd side loading as well, because it’s not about security is about control. Whenever someone tells you they are taking away a freedom you have for something harmless like installing your own apps for your safety, it’s always about control.
Google is also banning emulators and many types of software that the corporate cartel don’t like. They have already been doing this as well. If people offer ad free apps they get removed from the play store. There is about a 9/10 chances that if there was a decent app, it’s been removed. Not anything anticorporaye they just hate ad free good software on the store.
This has led to a situation where nearly every piece of software on the store is junk, and to stop people from downloading decent apps from the internet, they are doing this nonsense.
There is so much wrong that Google does, lock bootloaders, banning user apps, taking away root access, stopping users from being able to to basic configuration of their devices like stopping software updates, they spy on people, censor the internet, the interfere in democratic elections, they target activists and stuff with demonization while allowing the absolute worst people on earth like conservative superpacs and think tanks to operate on their site, often times given them preferential treatment, like they did with corporate media over independent media.
Google is like the only phone OEM with unlockable bootloader…
Do you mean android-compatible? Because there are a lot of android-compatible device manufacturers with unlockable bootloaders outside of Google themselves. Like the OnePlus I’m currently using.
OnePlus is the “like” in my comment, they’re the only alternative I know of that allows you to still plug your phone to a PC and unlock it.
No I have a non Google phone with an unlockable bootloader rn, and also an unlockable bootloader on android is mostly a lie. They still require signing to install, because I guess hours of downloading tools and copying files back so that you don’t lose your IMEI and stuff wasn’t enough. This is how Motorola is, claims to have an unlockable bootloader which is technically true Ig, but you can only install official Motorola operating systems lol.
I too have seen the WearOS watch face subscription at some point. At this point, I’ve made it a personal stance to not use any subscription based models.
Spotify is killing the music business and the CEO invests in military tech to kill people. It’s evil. Don’t do it.
They also allow ICE to recruitment ads on their platform.
Could you tell me an alternative that allows for third party clients? On Spotify, I can configure a terminal client even on Linux and stream music with very low overhead [contrast with YTMusic with required a permanent browser tab opened]. Yes, local media streaming can do that but there is only so much space at one time on my HDD.
I imagine there would be several YouTube front ends for Linux, but I’m out of the loop as I’ve not had a Linux box in ages. On Android, I use NewPipe and others like Revanced (haven’t tried). You might also want to check out self-hosting comms. Those folks are very knowledgeable about going completely independent.
Once can stream audio from YouTube via terminal on Linux but problem is all of that is limited to 128 kbps AAC. There is no way to stream proper 256 kbps AAC that YouTube Music Premium provides. One can download such streams via yt-dlp (it needs to be given authorization cookies) but there is currently no way to stream high quality audio from YouTube without using the webpage.
Can you actually hear the difference between 128 and 256kbps on the devices you are listening on?
I have a tendency to want “the best”, but have rarely actually needed “the best”. I export my lossless FLAC music collection to much lower bitrate opus files, which I can then access from my VPS. The switch to opus makes the space requirements for the VPS drastically cheaper. Going with the lower bitrate might make things easier for you.
One of my favorite sayings, which I rarely follow myself, is: Perfect is the enemy of good.
Source for CEO investing in military tech?
He’s recently stepped down as CEO but apparently still remains heavily involved in the business.
Spotify’s stock price has taken a bit of a tumble since Ek’s announcement on September 30, dropping around 7.5% as of mid-day trading on the NYSE on October 9. That may be a reflection of the confidence that investors have in Ek as the driving force behind Spotify, and why Ek has gone to pains to stress that he is not leaving the company, and will continue to have an active hand in the business as a “European”-style Executive Chairman.
“Most investors may come at it from a US perspective, where [Chairman is] mostly a ceremonial role. In Europe, it isn’t. In fact, a Chairman is someone who’s quite active in the business, sometimes even represents the business externally to different stakeholders, like, for instance, governments or key partners,” Ek said on a recent investor call.
Ek walks away from the CEO role as one of the 10 richest people in Sweden, with Forbes estimating his fortune at $9.6 billion. Amid a massive run-up in Spotify’s stock over the past few years (at around $673 per share, it’s gone up about 8.5-fold since a bottom below $80 in late 2022), Ek has cashed in a significant amount of Spotify shares. By MBW’s estimates, he had sold nearly $808 million in Spotify stock as of this past May.
…
But some of Ek’s investments have proven controversial, most notably Prima Materia’s leading role in a €600 million ($700 million) Series D funding round into German defense firm Helsing. The company has sparked concerns over its joint project with Swedish aerospace company Saab to build an AI “combat agent” that can operate fighter jets.
That left a bitter taste in the mouths of many artists on Spotify, especially those who already considered the streaming service to be paying out what they see as low royalty rates on streams, cutting corners on mechanical royalties in the US, and (particularly irksome for some) paying Joe Rogan a huge sum for his podcast.
For some artists, it was the last straw. A number of them, including Sylvan Esso, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Deerhoof and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have announced they’re pulling their music from Spotify.
…Spotify’s Chief Executive Daniel Ek announced that he’d led a funding round of nearly $700 million (through his personal investment firm, Prima Materia) into the European defense firm Helsing. That company, which Ek now chairs, specializes in AI software integrated into fighter aircraft like its HX-2 AI Strike Drone. “Helsing is uniquely positioned with its AI leadership to deliver these critical capabilities in all-domain defence innovation,” Ek said in a statement about the funding round.
So you could go through the trouble of pirating those apps… Or you could use the FOSS alternatives that already exist. Even if the android alternatives quit working you could use any computer to do the same thing.
I still just keep an offline existing music collection that I update every once in a while. remove stuff I don’t really listen to anymore, add stuff I’m listening to now (through various sources, youtube or buying an album download, etc)
this whole streaming thing is just a nightmare through and through and being tied to an internet connection constantly is a bit stressful. especially when out and about.
I highly recommend a personal library if its a feasible spacewise for your devices.
I am beginning to do this.
I have an old music Collection my nas, around 150GB.
How do you organize that? Maybe from a phone point of view?
Musicbrainz?
If you are already into, or want to get into self-hosting you could set up a media server like Jellyfin or Navidrome and use a mobile client that works with the one you choose. I am using Jellyfin with the Finamp beta on Android. I use it only in offline mode when I am out and about.
I sometimes hear people complain about some issues with Jellyfin, although I have not had any of those myself (I have a comparable collectiom to you). I run all music through Musicbrainz Picard before adding it to the server, so I think that may be a pre-requisite for a smooth experience. Navidrome is perhaps more forgiving.
I bought stats.fm back when it was called spotistats or something. I just checked and seem to still be grandfathered in to full features with no sub. I would be pretty pissed off if I were you though, that is such a shitty move by any company.
