Self hosting my media library with Jellyfin and Wireguard on Hetzner

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Privacy, Data Collection & Control

  • One camp sees low risk in companies knowing their music taste and even values ad-based discovery.
  • Others argue streaming apps collect far more (location, habits, device use, timing, emotional patterns) and feed large profiling ecosystems; avoiding this requires heavy OPSEC.
  • Self-hosting is framed as regaining control over data and avoiding DRM-locked platforms and bans.

Music Discovery: Algorithms vs Alternatives

  • Critics of self-hosting claim it kills new-music discovery and rapid access to new releases.
  • Others counter that discovery existed long before algorithms: radio, friends, interviews, liner notes, niche communities, and curated radio streams still work well.
  • Some combine self-hosting with tools like ListenBrainz/Troi or last.fm-style scrobbling for recommendation-like playlists.

Artist Compensation & Economics

  • Several comments emphasize that streaming is cheap partly because artists—especially small/indie ones—are paid very little per stream.
  • Examples compare needing ~100 full album listens on streaming to equal buying a $10 CD/Bandcamp download.
  • One poster notes Spotify pays roughly $0.003 per stream; another says Spotify passes ~70% of revenue to rights-holders, so labels share substantial blame.
  • Debate over Spotify’s 1,000-stream payout threshold: some see it as reasonable for hobbyists; others as unfair exclusion.
  • Some argue a piracy-plus-direct-support model (merch, concerts, downloads) can send more money to artists than subscriptions.

Spotify-Specific Critiques & Defenses

  • Criticisms: low pay, “ghost artist”/stock music in playlists, AI-generated slop, CEO’s military-AI investments, ads and “sponsored” content even for premium users, aggressive UX nudging (e.g., Wrapped takeovers).
  • Others defend ghost/background tracks as harmless utility music for “chill/study” playlists and see economic logic.
  • A defender stresses Spotify’s large catalog, strong discovery, decent UX, and absence of traditional ads on paid plans; for some, it remains uniquely compelling.

Self-Hosting Motivations & Setups

  • Motivations: owning media, avoiding ads/upsells, better UX for albums/series, hobby/learning, and independence from shifting catalogs and prices.
  • Stack examples: Jellyfin/Navidrome with WireGuard or Tailscale; some use home NAS/NFS, others VPS (e.g., Hetzner), which sparks debate over whether renting a VPS counts as “self-hosting.”
  • Clients mentioned include Symfonium, Finamp, Manet, various Subsonic-compatible apps, or simple local players plus VPN.

Cost, Legality & Practical Tradeoffs

  • Several highlight that a VPS + storage can approach streaming prices before buying any content; cloud “self-hosting” isn’t automatically cheaper.
  • A major practical blocker is legally building a large library to rival streaming; many acknowledge that for most users this implies either smaller, curated libraries or piracy/ripping (e.g., CDs, YouTube).
  • Some value intentionally limited libraries: everything on the server is there by choice, not algorithmic filler.

UX Comparisons & Alternatives

  • Apple Music and YouTube Music are often criticized for poor UX, reliability, search, and offline behavior, despite features like cloud lockers.
  • Qobuz and Tidal are praised for higher pay rates and lossless quality, but discovery and search are seen as weaker or clunky.
  • Traditional and online radio (e.g., specialty stations) plus self-hosting are presented as a viable replacement for algorithmic playlists.