I do. Most stations in my region are just crappy music and dumb call-in shows, but there’s still a few stations with quality programming. FM radio is where I get my news, where I listen to press conferences, old-school audio theatre and (surprisingly) where I get new music recommendations. Hard to believe that modern streaming platforms’ algorithms can be outperformed by traditional media.
I switched from Spotify to Navidrome+local radio. When I’m in the car, it’s been 100% radio recently.
I actually like a lot of the music on my local radio stations. Yes, it’s 10 songs on a loop, but they gradually change out the 10 songs. So 6 months from now it’s slightly different 10 songs. I also get to spend more time with each song, which lets me learn the lyrics or notice different parts of the song better.
Yes, there are ads and talking, but it’s not all bad. I like the ads for local businesses, restaurants, or events. The talking gets annoying sometimes, but most of the time it’s fine or, dare I say, even enjoyable. When the ads/talking gets too much, I just change the station. There are like 4-5 stations I cycle through. If they’re all annoying, then I just turn the radio down for a minute.
I also discover new songs from the radio that later I add to Navidrome.
Overall, pretty happy not paying for Spotify and not having to use my phone.