Terminal Music Player - No Subscription Required

Meet: Shellbeats

https://github.com/lalo-space/shellbeats

It's a TUI which uses Youtube to stream music through your terminal.

Benefits:

1. It is just audio (no video player... which I think this breaches a terms-of-use policy... not sure, not a lawyer)
2. Huge selection of music (official releases, live music, etc)
3. Includes a "download" function for offline listening (the legalities of that feature are questionable... but again, not a lawyer, you decide)
4. Playlist creation and management

Negatives:

1. The only way to find music is via a keyword search. The results will be a mix of things you want and things you don't want. Adding "official" helps a little.
2. No "continuous play" feature based of what you've been listening to. Once the playlist ends, the music stops.
3. Unclear if the musicians receive any income if you engage with their music this way. If, like me, this bothers you, (especially for smaller bands), make sure you get out to see your favourite musicians perform live when they tour near you. This provides them with greater income than any streaming service and keeps live music "alive".

Why you might like it:

As someone who pays for 3 music subscriptions (Spotify, Apple and Prime), I actually enjoy having a bit of friction with my music player. I have to "think" about what I want to listen to and then build a playlist. This was something I used to love doing when I was younger but modern music players have made life "too easy". There's a lot to be said about engaging with music intentionally.

Just like Cyberspace, Shellbeats is a music player with less frills and greater simplicity. No algorithms. No curation. You're in control.