Bandcamp vs subscription streaming services
I decided to stop using Apple Music and Spotify in favor of purchasing music through Bandcamp. The primary catalyst for this was that I was essentially locked out of my Apple Music subscription. The reason for being locked out is pretty silly: I've changed countries, and Apple refuses to let me switch app stores because I have a year-long subscription still active for one of my services. But I no longer have a credit card in my previous country, so I can't pay for anything.
Unfortunately, chatting with Apple support didn't help and the only reassuring thing I've got is "we understand that it's not what you expected, but we can't do anything until your subscription expires".
This should serve as a reminder that you don't own stuff that you rent from big tech companies. And the silly thing about this particular situation is that all the need for the subscription is artificial. We live in a day when 256 Gb SD cards are dirt cheap, and internet connections easily reach 100 Mbit/s. There is no real need for a streaming service if you can keep all your music library with you. Oh, I forgot: iPhones don't have an SD card slot. Fine, but still I'd prefer a dumb and replaceable syncing service like Dropbox and to actually own my library.
So, starting from today I'm purchasing my music and keeping it. Just because I'm sick of people pulling the plug on their side because they didn't like the way I move around.