I enjoyed Roon lifetime+Qobuz for many years. Family has always demanded Spotify on top. But we recently tightened our belts; a music streaming service had to go.
I’m the only classical-lover in the family so Qobuz went. Effectively that means I almost never use Roon, or my HiFi
I’m trying to persuade everyone to switch from Spotify to Tidal but it’s a hard sell. They say Tidal is poor with Android Auto. Also, I have to admit that Spotify lossless does sound OK on my HiFi, so that argument isn’t as easy now.
Anyone been in a similar pickle, and found a happy solution?
Having three daughters and a wife who do listen to music in their own ways and with their own tastes and also preferences of app choices.
My wife doesn’t like Qobuz or Tidal apps. I’m not keen on Tidal, but Qobuz has a fabulous app IMHO.
Spotify. Some will have a view based on that artists don’t get paid as much compared to other services. My view is a bit more relaxed. Artists just don’t get paid enough from all streaming services.
Spotify is the king of all the “Connect” apps. These days it has the benefit of podcasts and audiobooks. If I used both I’d be happier to choose Spotify if it pleased the family.
As it turns out I have managed to get all the family to use Apple Music. We all have iPhones/iPads and it works really well for us all. It is less user-friendly for me in terms of playing through my listening zones, but the app Lysoniq does help.
My Qobuz sub is paid up until December (I think) and we pay (I mean me) monthly for the Apple One subscription for the four Apple services.
I am lucky as I have acquired a good physical library and also a digital library on my server. So I could go without Qobuz.
For a user who wishes to use Roon with a streaming service, yep a tricky one as it needs Qobuz or Tidal for UK users.
Maybe as a birthday present, your family could all chip in and pay for an annual Qobuz subscription.
I’m anti-subscription, so streaming is out, but I often buy downloads or CD’s, and think “damn, I could have had it all for a month for less”. I suppose, if I ever get stranded on a desert island with my laptop, I’ll still be able to listen to my collection… whereas the streamers probably won’t (unless they have Starlink?).
Yes, I held this position many years ago and I’m returning to it.
Perhaps naively, I want to be more supportive of artists but find it difficult to avoid lining the pockets of the streaming providers, record labels or ticket promoters. Rightly or wrongly I aim to spend more on live performances and totally stop streaming services.
Roon is now just there to play from my local library. Until recently it was always-on. Now it’s mostly off. ARC has never been reliable enough for me to use. I might just go back to CDs in the car. Luddite?
By not having a service you lose one of the most valuable features of Roon, the Artist Discography
The world has gone subscription , I suppose a form of income from ongoing software ad services.
I have Tidal and Netflix. I prefer not to subscribe to our DSTV supplier simply because it’s expensive for a lot of re-runs and I am not a sport watcher.
This is partly the point I am making. My family demand Spotify. To make Roon truly valuable, I have to buy Qobuz/Tidal just to feed Roon. I can’t justify that, so baby Roon gets thrown out with bathwater Qobuz.
If you have the time, CD’s are extremely cheap 2nd hand a lot of places, and you can rip them and fill up your local storage in a few weekends.
I’m in the same boat, as I pay for my own Tidal subsciption, but also for my kids Spotify.. Wishing for a yearly sub for your birthday is a good suggestion!
I am anti-subscription for most things but I did the maths and Qobuz is cheaper than buying CDs for me, especially if I factor in those CDs I used to buy which proved to be a disappointment with more extended listening.
I just use Qobuz for things that I don’t die for and to listen to new stuff, which is still cheaper than buying CDs just to find out that I listen to them twice, and then I buy a download or CD/vinyl for those few albums that are really important to me.
Roon and Qobuz would be at the top of my " last to go" list. Streaming music is still an absolute wonder to me. And Roon makes " active listening " a true joy.
You can if you are able to keep selling more perpetual licenses, a different model for sure. The software company I worked for transitioned from a perpetual licensing to a subscription model when we were owned by private equity.
Well that’s still recurring revenue if you keep it up. But if your potential market isn’t virtually unlimited, you can’t keep selling more perpetual licenses to new people.
It’s just fine and ethical if a necessarily limited number of users pay subscriptions to ensure survival of a tool they like.
And this is particularly the case for software that has external dependencies and requires constant work to remain operational for long.
It’s very difficult, I agree, but not always impossible.
Getting off topic but so far my software company is surviving by continually innovating, offering new features to existing clients and ensuring best-in-class options to our potential clients. My clients hate subscription. We’re very different from streaming tho.
