IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Backing up Spotify

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Illegality Under Copyright and ToS

Many view scraping as illegal copyright infringement or ToS violation, though enforceability is debated. "Not legal" - phainopepla2. Lawyer DannyBee notes: "You can't be bound to a contract you never view or intentionally assent to." "ToS is not law except in the most draconian... interpretations of the CFAA" - sneak.

2. Spotify Hypocrisy and Poor Artist Pay

Critics highlight Spotify's pirated origins and low payouts, favoring direct support or archiving. "There's some irony here considering Spotify used pirated mp3s at the start" - nemomarx. "Spotify gives cents to artists, incentivizing awful behaviour (AI music...)" - jopicornell. "You're talking about Spotify, right? Famously started by ad execs pirating music" - venturecruelty.

3. Value for Preservation and AI Training

Praised as archival godsend for open models and research, despite access hurdles. "Anna is a godsend. Hopefully now we get some really good open source music models" - artninja1988. "This does seem like it will be a godsend for researchers working on things like music classification and generation" - crazygringo. Ideological drive: "Copyright is just a shared delusion" - toomuchtodo.

🚀 Project Ideas

Spotify Playlist Migrator

Summary

  • Scans Spotify playlists and exports tracklists with direct DRM-free purchase links from Bandcamp, Qobuz, 7digital, and Bandcamp alternatives.
  • Solves rotting playlists and licensing issues by enabling ownership of high-quality files; core value is seamless transition to personal, future-proof library.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Spotify users frustrated with unavailable tracks and low artist payouts (e.g., "Spotify rotted my playlists").
Core Feature Playlist import via Spotify API, fuzzy matching to DRM-free stores, one-click bulk purchase/download with metadata preservation.
Tech Stack Python (Spotipy, fuzzywuzzy), React frontend, PostgreSQL for cache, Stripe for purchases.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Freemium (basic scans free, bulk buys 5% affiliate fee).

Notes

  • HN users hate playlist rot ("almost all the songs were greyed out") and want to buy direct ("I'm thinking it's time to buy music again"); quotes basisword, mrguyorama.
  • High utility for self-hosters; sparks discussions on ownership vs. streaming.

Hi-Res Music Quality Verifier

Summary

  • Analyzes local music libraries (FLAC/MP3) against Spotify metadata for quality mismatches, suggests DRM-free hi-res upgrades from Qobuz/Bandcamp.
  • Addresses low bitrate complaints (160kbps) and desire for original masters; value prop is effortless audiophile-grade library optimization.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Audiophiles and self-hosters seeking FLAC/vinyl rips over streaming compression (e.g., What.CD fans).
Core Feature Audio fingerprinting (Chromaprint), bitrate/remaster detection, upgrade recommendations with price comparison.
Tech Stack FFmpeg, AcoustID, Node.js CLI/GUI, SQLite.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Echoes What.CD praise for quality ("unparalleled in high quality standard") and Spotify gripes ("garbage Spotify's music sounds compared to FLACs"); quotes Etheryte, cedws.
  • Practical for NAS users; fosters HN threads on audio fidelity and private trackers.

Curated Music Discovery Server

Summary

  • Self-hosted server importing Spotify/YouTube scrobbles, curates obscure/high-quality recommendations from legal sources (Bandcamp, archive.org, radio APIs).
  • Fixes algorithmic slop and poor discovery ("algorithm is no replacement"); core value is human-like curation for niche/obscure tracks.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Music enthusiasts missing What.CD-style discovery and variety ("discourse about music and curated discovery").
Core Feature Scrobble integration (Last.fm API), collaborative filtering with user-submitted lists, RSS for new releases/radio.
Tech Stack Go (for server), Docker, PostgreSQL + Elasticsearch for recommendations.
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Users lament lost curation ("compilation album is a great idea") and streaming limits ("missing large portions of bootlegs, old music"); quotes flxy, chrneu.
  • Utility for offline discovery; potential for HN forks/communities like Redacted.sh invites.

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