[savef]

Folks are saying Bandcamp, but surely that's only for the few indie artists that are on there (in comparison to the wider music ecosystem covered by Spotify). Please explain if I'm missing something here.

So I think a better answer is Qobuz[1], which I recently tried. I had a pleasant experience, where I downloaded DRM free FLAC files. I will use it again, but sparingly, as the cost adds up on top of the Spotify subscription and in comparison to piracy.

[1] https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/shop

[bigstrat2003]

Bandcamp has a wider selection than you'd think. I've been pleasantly surprised at how often I will find an artist who sells music there. Qobuz is good too, I use them both.

[runako]

I feel like I'm missing something, too. I just went there and searched for some very large artists (pulling from a Wikipedia article on best-selling artists of all time). Every single one was a fake profile, with no actual music by the artist.

Is there a normie search mode, or is this to be expected?

[bramhaag]

Bandcamp is primarily for independent artists and independent record labels. Depending on what music you listen to, you will either not be able to find anything (e.g. anything popular enough to be played on the radio), or you will be able to find more than on conventional streaming services (e.g. extreme metal).

Some big labels unfortunately have a "No Bancamp allowed" policy. This is the case for Century Media, which is owned by Sony, which has a large share in Spotify. I'm sure there are more examples like this.

The only ethical way I see to truly own all of your music is to pirate it, and support the artists by buying their merch and going to their shows.

[runako]

Thank you! I was reading so many comments suggesting that everything should be on Bandcamp, but my searches did not show that. I was wondering if I was maybe on the wrong website.