In the past 10 years, I've noticed that the amount of subscription-based services has increased dramatically. Companies have moved away from one-time fees or lifetime subscriptions to charging a monthly flat fee, usually anywhere from $5 to $10. This may sound like very little, but assuming you have multiple subscriptions with popular platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or Spotify, it all adds up very fast.
I've been lucky enough that I've been able to avoid paying for these services, whether it be not using the platform at all or having a friend lend me their account from time to time.
However, last year I had to get my own Spotify account. After experiencing premium on a previously shared account I could no longer use, I was spoiled. I knew I wanted Premium but I was dreading paying for it. $9.99 doesn't sound like much, but one year of Premium was going to cost about $120 total, and I couldn't justify shelling out that much just to listen to music with no ads. Still, I coughed up the $9.99 every month for almost a year, until a bunch of artists I listened to were suddenly removed from the app.
This was the push I needed to finally walk away from Spotify.
I brainstormed what I could do to still have access to my music without jumping ship to Youtube Premium or Apple Music, and that's when I remembered my old iPod nano sitting in a drawer at the back of my closet. I had kept it in immaculate condition since I was a tween, with not so much as a scratch on the screen, so I charged it up and got to work downloading all the songs I could think of.
The only hurdle? I had gotten rid of all my wired headphones after getting Airpods last year, and my iPod was not Bluetooth compatible. I found out this fix was easier than I expected. I paid about $25 for a Bluetooth transmitter that would plug into the iPod, and the rest was history. If you're interested in getting one yourself this is the one I purchased. This is not an affiliate link, I don't get any money or anything from you clicking it, just wanted to share!
I've been using my iPod as my sole music source for about a month, and it does come with pros and cons! It's certainly a "low tech" approach, so needless to say I don't have all the fancy social/connectivity features that Spotify has. What I love about my iPod is that it's just for listening to music.
It has one function and does that one thing very well; playing music.
I'm not tempted to endlessly scroll or get lost in an app. Not only that, but even with the Bluetooth transmitter plugged in, it's small enough to fit in the pocket of my jeans (yes, woman's jeans! So you can imagine how little pocket space I have...).
If you're thinking about making the same move, I encourage it! I am now the proud owner of 0 monthly subscriptions and 1 iPod nano with an awesome music library. Go digging up your old MP3 player and see how it can benefit you in 2021, you may be surprised.
As always, thank you for reading! :)
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