8tracks - Best Playlist Radio 12+

8tracks current glitch: putting my account as free user, when I’m a paid user ( for a freaking long time)
I loved 8tracks for a long time. When it was free worldwide, my international friends and I would share different playlists that we liked. When they closed their doors to other countries, I was sad but you can’t keep up fees to pay for servers and other things when a free service isn’t given love. When they went to subscriptions I was so freaking relieved, no more ads!
For the people complaining about ads, this is one of the cheapest subscriptions that allows you to find music based on your mood, or kind of day you want. If your complaint is that it’s not good enough as a free version, then please don’t even write a complaint. Just skip yourself to another service. A one month subscription costs, less that a normal fancy coffee at Starbucks, less than an allday bus pass in L.A., less than a pack of beer, less than a trip to the movies, and the list goes on. For something that you will enjoy on a daily bases, the 1 month subscription is really affordable. Don’t belittle this app just because you can’t and/or won’t pay for it. It has been worth each month I paid.

I began using 8tracks a couple of years back and immediately fell in love with the interface and community. I left after the obligatory paid membership introduction, and have once again returned at the announcement of the free-with-ads membership. I do not mind the ads at all, but have been experiencing a problem (both on the app and the website interface) specifically with the Home Depot ad. If the HD ad plays first, the second ad will be silence with no picture of a company, and the timer will sit at 0:30 indefinitely. I am then forced to clear the app and re-enter (iPhone XR) or refresh the page (website) in order to continue listening. A strange problem that I never experienced in my early days of using 8tracks, but not a big enough problem for me to not use the service.

I have had an account for many years.

It’s a truly unique streaming service where the focus is on creating playlists, and the music on the playlists is secret (typically).

This allows me to discover new artists and new genres that I wouldn’t have normally decided to listen to. We’re all guilty of listening to the same 10 songs on repeat. 8tracks lets me break free from that cycle.

I especially love the playlists that cater to specific fandoms (mostly anything you can think of, there’s a playlists for it. a certain video game, a character, a book... season...). They might not be my preferred music, but it gives me a sense to understand someone else’s interpretation of *insert whatever here*.

At some point they imposed a listening limitation that made me stop using the app for awhile, but it seems to have been retracted. This is good, however, I think it’s about time I fork over $30 so i can listen to these playlists without Home Depot ads LOL.
Truthfully, it’s a relatively cheap expense, and since I love this app so much I think it’s worth it.

My recommendation?
If you’re a nerdy, fandom-loving, need to find some niche subject to express via music, or simply an “indie” music lover, this is a great app. Download it and you’ll understand.

If you aren’t any of those, there’s still plenty of playlists you can enjoy.

Thanks 8tracks for the great times!