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Comment on YSK: Deezer, the music streaming service, is owned by a company whose Founder and CEO is a Russian Oligarch with connections to the Kremlin and donates to the American Republican party.

tekdeb@lemmy.zip ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

I’m quickly running out of options… Apple Music was honestly really decent, then the US did their thing so I looked for non-US options. One of my requirements is lossless quality, so Spotify is out (regardless of their own ethical issues). Tidal is also out as it has been a US-owned service for a long time. The remaining options are Deezer and Qobuz. Qobuz seems good in terms of ownership and whatnot, but their catalogue is missing things I listen to quite often, or at least it did when I last checked it out a few months ago. I think I’m staying with Deezer for now. It’s not ideal as Access Industries own 41.4% of Deezer whose owner this post is all about, but it’s the least bad of all the options I’ve found. They also don’t have every song I’m interested in, but they’re pretty close.

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jinx@lemmy.zip ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
i’m facing the same dilemma. i just recently left spotify. tidal and qobuz don’t have nearly enough of my favorite music, so i went with deezer. i really don’t want to give apple any more money, but i’m wondering which would be better…

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Aatube@kbin.melroy.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Doesn't that make it 41.4% US-owned? I don't see how your criteria make Deezer better than Apple Music. Plus Access is the same company that owns Warner Music Group, and I'm fairly sure it's only 41.4% because they later went public in 2022; the 2016 acquisition decision says the percent of Deezer owned by Access is confidential but says Access would have exclusive control. Which also brings the question of where the 41.4% figure is from.

Do you really want to support something that expressly funds the policies and aspects of the US that you hate or something that's simply based in the US and helped fund just Trump's inauguration event instead of any policies?

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- tekdeb@lemmy.zip ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  True, which is why I don’t think Deezer is a perfect choice for me either, but at the surface level 41.4% US-owned is better than closer to 100% which all the other services are that meets my requirements. Personally I found that number on the Deezer Wikipedia page, but it is marked with “citation needed”, so it could be completely wrong. And that probably is the case if it’s true that Access bought exclusive control.
  
  “The US that you hate” doesn’t exist. I disagree with a lot of decisions and policies and want better for the American people and the rest of the world that is both directly and indirectly affected, but there’s no hate. But you do make an important point that I hadn’t thought deeply enough about and I agree with you. I believe it’s better to support something that’s simply based in the US rather than the specific policies I disagree with even if it’s more money.
  
  Qobuz would be my choice as it would avoid this dilemma, but their catalogue wasn’t good enough for me the last time I tried it. I’ll have to try again to see if it has gotten better since then. But I have changed my mind and will cancel my Deezer subscription regardless and try to find an alternative. Or maybe I’ll just drop streaming services completely for now as most of my active listening is done with my own local collection anyways and I could always set up a Jellyfin instance if needed.
  
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floofloof@lemmy.ca ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I can recommend Qobuz. I’ve tried a bunch of them and it’s the one I stuck with. Actual high quality audio without ridiculous extra fees, lots of information including CD booklets and complete credits on each track, and they pay the artists a bit more than most streaming services do.

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- tekdeb@lemmy.zip ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Thanks for the recommendation. Qobuz has lots if things I would appreciate, but the last time I tried it it was missing a lot of the music I regularly listen to. It has only been a few months since then, but I will give it another try to see if it has changed.
  
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