here's what i did:
so for starters i've been collecting cds since 2020 or 2021 because my car aux port wasn't working and i didn't have bluetooth so i stole a bunch of my dad's old cds and then bought some and have collected many of my favorite albums over the years, so i already have dozens of cds. but the first thing to do is decide what you need based on what you currently use spotify for.
i used spotify for music and podcasts, so i was going to need to find alternatives for both of those.
the first step is basically to collect music in a way that isn't streaming. for me it's cds, but you can do this digitally too by purchasing (or using another means, argh matey) music digitally, whether it's via itunes or bandcamp or another platform. you -can- switch to another streaming service, but they all pay artists a fraction of a cent per stream and we don't need to sit here and pretend that any of these tech ceos will see the kingdom of heaven, so like, this post isn't about that.
i started by getting a cd binder. the one i have is small, fits in my tote bag or in a bigger pocket, and fits 16 cds, which for me is more than enough to have a steady rotation of albums i like, especially because i'm the kind of guy to get hyperfixated on an album and listen to nothing but that for a whole month (it's been Make Yourself by Incubus). the second part of this was replacing my shitty $0.59 goodwill speaker that didn't work with the cheapest cd player i could find new ($27 bc i didn't try that hard but jesus christ why was that the cheapest) because i've gone through like three goodwill cd players at this point and i just want one that works.
i also think i should add here that i'm not really putting music on my phone because i've been using it less and less because of The Horrors and being chronically online witnessing constant Horrors um rots your brain and i'd rather play Baldur's Gate 3 or crochet or read or lay on the floor than subject myself to more of that than i already due because of decade-long habits. also it's fun to be less online and "check out my cd collection" is a conversation starter.
my second method for this is....my 2009 gen 5 (?) pink ipod nano. hopefully. the battery hasn't worked in 10 years and the screen is inexplicably fucked but i'm planning to replace the battery and the screen and add bluetooth compatibility somehow bc i hate wired headphones. but i bought an external cd driver ($27) and uploaded most of my cds to itunes, which also means that i can easily sync that to my phone any time i want. hopefully the ipod thing will work and if it does i'll make a post on that if i remember that this site exists.
currently i listen to two podcasts: the leaving eden podcast (ex-ifb, cult, and related history and analysis) and the gender reveal podcast (cool trans stuff) so i subscribed to both of their patreons (which combined was still a few bucks less than i paid for spotify) which allows me to access Bonus Content and early content which is cool, and i have an iphone and apple has the built-in Podcast app and i can listen to pretty much any podcast there for free. this part was super easy and it's also sick as fuck knowing that An Amount of my money actually goes to the people who work hard to develop the content i listen to.
i've been without spotify for over a month now and i haven't missed it one bit. if i need to search for a song to find out who made it or what it's called i can use the lyric genius app, if i don't have a song i like on cd i can buy it (although i haven't done this yet, i have a pretty good cd collection and i just got a good handful of new cds), i no longer have to listen to ads with my podcasts (fuck you 'better' help) and the ritual of like, physically tangibly handling the music that i own (and i own it, and can listen to it whenever and wherever i want, and i don't even need internet to do it) is a very pleasing experience. before i spend like $90 on cds the other day i had saved money since cancelling spotify but fucking whatever, money isn't real and cds are cool.
if you read all this, thx for reading and i hope this helped maybe give you some ideas of how you can interact with the content you consume and ensure that the largest percentage of the money you spent on media goes to those who create it rather than to fund genocide and kill the environment and be the reason why you sweat after checking your mail for a third of the year :)