I was growing tired of algorithm-fed playlists serving up the same old sounds. Then I discovered Bandcamp, which offers a welcome retreat for music lovers seeking originality, variety, and discovery far beyond the mainstream echo chamber. Now I’m hooked!
Discover Music You Won’t Hear Elsewhere
Don’t get me wrong, I love Spotify, and having over 100 million tracks at my fingertips is great. However, I do have one major gripe, and that is with its curated playlists. In fact, I have found that every mainstream platform I have trialled—whether it’s Spotify, Apple Music, Qobuz, or Amazon Music—primarily pushes content from major labels and heavily curated “safe bets” when it comes to music discovery.
Bandcamp’s catalog is refreshingly unfiltered, as anyone can upload their music, and artists have total control over how their music is presented and sold. This means that I am introduced to music that sits well outside the commercial comfort zone, as the platform isn’t beholden to algorithms or label politics.
Since discovering Bandcamp, I have not only gotten to know great artists and bands like Samara Joy and Wet Leg, but I have also come across entire genres that are new to me, such as reggaeton, as well as cool remixers like Munick Disko.
Bandcamp Supports Artists Better
As a one-time working musician (and current dedicated bedroom guitarist), I like to see artists treated well. It’s well-documented that musicians are poorly compensated by streaming platforms, even though physical media manufacturing doesn’t eat into production costs. This means that creators are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain themselves, and with less talent flooding the market, everyone loses out.
Bandcamp, on the other hand, has an artist-first business model, which allows musicians to sell their music and merchandise directly to the public, earning on average 82% of each sale. A total of over $1.5 billion has been paid to musicians by the platform. Additionally, once a month is Bandcamp Friday, when every cent of sales goes directly to the artist!
This direct connection between the consumer and the artist makes every purchase more meaningful, and I am happier knowing that a major corporation isn’t taking the lion’s share of my hard-earned cash.
Curated Collections That Deliver Proper Music
Bandcamp
While it’s true that not all content I have seen on Bandcamp passes muster when it comes to quality control, this is a symptom of the platform’s thriving ecosystem, and you sometimes have to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
However, the Bandcamp Daily editorial team does a fine job of finding the best that the platform has to offer, with in-depth features, artist spotlights, and genre deep-dives that suggest that they are well-versed in music journalism, with a keen sense of what people want to listen to.
I also find the Bandcamp lists to be very helpful when discovering new genres, and these are comprehensive and thoughtfully presented. This type of music discovery feels more like a conversation than a sales pitch, and it has opened my eyes (and ears) to a whole world of new sounds.
Why Bandcamp Is Needed Now More Than Ever
Like many modern industries, the music industry of today is becoming increasingly centralized. A few major players (such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group) have significant control over how music is promoted and consumed. For independent artists, the need for alternative streaming solutions has never been greater.
Convenience always comes at a price, and the homogenization of streaming services has very real consequences. Algorithms promote songs that sound like the last big hit. Music starts to sound increasingly formulaic and familiar. It is more difficult for musicians to break into the market, despite widespread access to music creation tools. On top of this, the spectre of AI looms large, having already made a significant impact on music streaming playlists.
Bandcamp reverses this trend, providing a decentralized alternative to music discovery at a time when algorithms and market forces are stifling creativity. For me, it feels like a breath of fresh air and a safe haven where I don’t feel like I’m being sold to.
Bandcamp Is All About Music, Not Algorithms
One of the things that I like most about Bandcamp is the community that it has fostered. Musicians are more than just content providers; they are shop owners with their own storefronts, profiles, and promotional tools. In turn, fans can show their support by publicly sharing, collecting, and recommending their favorite artists and tracks.
Bandcamp/Munick Disko
The Bandcamp ecosystem appears to be built on mutual respect and appreciation, allowing musicians to connect directly with their fans. In this way, everyone feels valued, and the platform chooses not to exploit but to nurture this unique dynamic between the artist and the consumer.
In an era when music often feels like a product rather than an art form, Bandcamp stands out as a platform where originality, international appeal, and collaboration take precedence. So next time your music streaming recommendations feel flat and colorless, give Bandcamp a try. You might find it just as inspiring as I do.
So the Emmy nominations have been announced, and the show with the most nominations is Apple TV+’s Severance.
Hands up if you’ve seen Severance? Hmm, I don’t think I see too many hands up. Although if you count the Trusted Reviews office, nearly everyone’s hand would be up.
And then there’s The Studio, a TV series that I’m not fond of but that scored 23 nominations. Based on the Emmy voters’ opinions (which are strange at the best of times), that’d imply that Apple TV+ has some pretty good shows.
So why does it still feel as if people aren’t watching Apple TV+?
2025 is a banner year for Apple TV+
It was reported in 2024 that Apple TV+ was losing a billion dollars a year, which was met with something close to a shrug from Apple CEO Tim Cook.
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Apple TV+ could almost be considered ‘entertainment-washing’. Apple isn’t fussed by subscriber numbers, as long as it’s boosting Apple’s reputation in the entertainment industry.
It seems so unfussed by its subscriber numbers (thought to be a meagre 45 million worldwide) that it hands out three-month subscriptions with abandon. It reminds me of Sony’s constant pushing of its 360 Reality Audio service with its new headphones, and similar to Apple, it’s an offer not many seem to be taking up.
And yet, 2025 looks like being Apple TV+’s best year in terms of output. F1: The Movie has been a hit with cinemagoers and critics; even though, as an F1 fan, I take some umbrage at some of the silly things and generic storytelling of that film.
credit: Apple
Then there’s Severance, The Studio, Smoke, Shrinking, Dope Thief, Murderbot, and a new season of Foundation. There’s plenty of variety and little repetition. It’s what I like about Apple TV+ – a focus on quantity over quality.
I can’t say I’ve watched Netflix as much this year as in previous years, only checking in when a season of Squid Game drops, and then when the last season of Stranger Things arrives.
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That’s a problem I’m sensing with Netflix at the moment, with a few of its major series ending and not much else on the horizon; while Apple TV+ has got into the rhythm of a regular stream of shows. More often than not, I’m checking in with Apple TV+ to see what’s on.
The films still underwhelm
For whatever reason, streaming services really struggle at making consistently good films. Despite a few bright spots now and then, Netflix struggles (who cared enough about The Old Guard to be interested in a sequel?). Apple TV+ has picked up the same affliction.
Apple’s film offering has been, for lack of a better term, largely crap – some might be disposed to call it underwhelming.
Despite being the first streamer to win the Best Picture Oscar (that’s some mud in Netflix’s eye), it’s never really built on the lessons from that win. If anything, it’s gone in the opposite direction of small, heartfelt dramas towards massive blockbusters. Except they ain’t busting many blocks.
credit: Apple/Warner Bros Discovery
Ghosted wasn’t good, Argylle was flat out bad, Napoleon was ‘meh’, The Gorge was forgettable. The bright spot has been F1: The Movie, but it’s also a film I don’t have a particularly desire to see again. While I didn’t see it in IMAX, it’s the type of film that loses much of its big screen feel when seen on an iPhone or iPad.
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Like pretty much every other streamer, TV series are the bread and butter of the platform.
Apple TV+ is better than you think
Apple is flinging one- and three-month subscriptions out there for anyone to try, and after five years there’s plenty of programming to catch up on.
I’ve never agreed with the criticism that it doesn’t have enough films and TV series. Actually, let me rephrase that. I don’t agree with the notion that a streaming service needs thousands of titles in its library.
You’ll never watch all those titles, and more than likely, you’ll end up watching a series of The Big Bang Theory, Friends, or a reality TV series.
It’s nice to have diversity and different approaches in the streaming market. Services like MUBI and Apple TV+ that focus on a smaller library are, I find, more interesting than the largesse of others. There’s less of that doom scrolling that infects the likes of Netflix and Prime Video where there’s too much choice.
The Emmys are weird (why is The Bear in the comedy category?), but for better or worse, there are markers of taste. And right now, Apple TV+ is serving up some tasty meals. You should give it a try.
Compact
soundbars
like the Vizio M-Series 2.1 and the Yamaha SR-C20A offer improved TV sound in a small package. 4K HDR streamers like the Chromecast with Google TV and Roku Streaming Stick Plus deliver better streaming to any TV. Until now, however, no product has combined the two into a single, do-it-all package under $150. That’s what the Roku Streambar does, and it does the job very well.
Like
Compact, easy to set up and affordable
Excellent dialogue reproduction
Tried and true Roku experience
Don’t like
Lacks bass in movies and music
The Streambar follows the footsteps of last year’s Roku Smart Soundbar with a smaller size and more affordable price. Usually the biggest issue with hybrid devices is that they’ve compromised too much in some area, and while the Streambar isn’t sonically perfect — its lack of bass is its biggest weakness — it makes up for that with excellent sound for dialogue and an ability to fill a room that belies its tiny footprint. Sure, it lacks a subwoofer, but even without one it can still beat your TV’s speakers .
Then again, so can a lot of other soundbars. If you want superior sound and don’t need streaming, the Yamaha SR-C20 or
Vizio V21
are better choices. The Roku Streambar is cheaper than either one, however, and makes perfect sense for people who don’t already have a good streamer hooked up to their TV. If you want to be able to hear your TV better, particularly vocals, and also enhance its streaming capabilities, it’s an excellent value.
Editor’s note, Dec. 3: Due to its performance, size and price, we’re giving the Roku Streambar our Editors’ Choice award as our favorite budget soundbar. While there are newer soundbars that outperform the Roku, they are also more expensive, and none includes video streaming onboard. This review first appeared on Oct. 14, 2020.
What it is
The Roku Streambar is a 2.0-channel soundbar with side-firing “wide” speakers, and the company says its onboard streaming capabilities are equivalent to those of the Roku Streaming Stick Plus. The system will process 5.1 audio, which means you can upgrade the system at a later date with Roku’s wireless subwoofer and surround speakers or the Walmart-exclusive Onn products.
Just 14 inches wide, the Streambar (right) is dwarfed by this 55-inch TV.
CNET staff
The main differences between the Streambar and the original Roku Smart Soundbar are size and shape. The Smart Soundbar is 32 inches wide, while the Streambar is much more compact at 14 inches. Although I haven’t heard the two side by side, I can pretty much guarantee the larger cabinet generates more bass.
The Streambar includes
Roku’s
voice remote, which lets you issue commands by speaking into the clicker. On the side, the remote includes volume controls and mute. The shortcuts at the bottom include Netflix, Disney Plus and Hulu.
The Streambar offers “simple volume modes” which “lower loud commercials, boost the volume of voices and optimize the sound for night listening” as well as adjusting bass levels — handy for controlling an external sub. It’s worth noting that since I performed this review in October 2020 Roku has added a series of additional sound modes, which now include Music, Movie, Night, and Speech. I aim to test the new sound profiles as soon as I can.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Connectivity includes an optical digital input and HDMI with audio return channel capability. It’s designed to connect to a TV and if you have other devices, such as a game console, you’ll need to use your TV as a switcher. The soundbar is also equipped with
Bluetooth
and Spotify Connect, while Apple AirPlay 2 support is coming soon.
How it performs
The team at CNET has written at length about our experiences with Roku streamers so I won’t dwell on the bar’s streaming capabilities here. Suffice to say it’s our favorite streaming platform and the Streambar is more of the same. The menus were familiar and simple, the response speed and picture quality were as excellent as expected and the voice remote was a joy to use as always.
Instead I’m going to focus on sound quality. The Streambar is smaller than most soundbars but after I plugged it in I was struck by how naturally it performed with dialogue. There was no chestiness on male voices — a problem with some soundbar/subwoofer combos — and dialogue had the articulation that made it easy to follow the story. I had been listening to a pair of Elac Uni-Fi 2.0 speakers immediately preceding the Streambar and it was easy to imagine that I still was. Given that vocal articulation is the Elac speaker’s priority this is probably the highest praise I could give the Roku speaker.
The Streambar’s remote can turn your TV on and off too.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Of course there were differences, almost certainly due to the Roku’s tiny cabinet. When I compared the Streambar with the Yamaha SR-C20 the Roku’s lack of bass or even midbass was immediately apparent. With Mad Max: Fury Road the Roku again made dialogue understandable while also making it appear to come from around the room. The Roku’s side-firing speakers really do help create a large image. In comparison the Yamaha speaker’s Virtual:X software did a similarly good job distributing sound around my listening space, but when Max spins up his Charger’s engines, the Yamaha pulled ahead.
The Roku is so physically tiny that the engines and onscreen explosions in Mad Max had little impact. The Yamaha was able to better capture the roar of the cars and the blast that catapults Max into the air. The Yamaha lacked the oomph that a dedicated sub can bring, but was a better fit than the Roku for people who want to watch more than the news and dramas.
The lobby scene from the The Matrix was next and the Yamaha offered more of a balanced sonic mix, with less high-frequency and more low-end. The Roku sounded a little shrill in contrast, particularly with the falling bullet casings. Changing the sound mode to bass boost helped a little, but the Yamaha was better.
Adding the $130 Onn subwoofer to the Roku helped quite a bit. Finally I could hear the chugging bass score, the shotgun blasts had more impact and the falling shell casings weren’t as piercing or irritating. If you are looking for an easy, economical upgrade to the Streambar, the Onn subwoofer is recommended.
With music the Roku again lagged behind the Yamaha for the same basic reason — lack of bass response. There isn’t a dedicated music mode, which is a shame for people who want to use the Streambar for listening to tunes from their
phones
or music apps like Spotify. Songs like Doves’ Cathedrals of the Mind sounded hollow on the Roku, despite its excellent vocal articulation, and again the Yamaha made the song fuller and more engrossing.
Should you buy it?
If you want real home cinema thrills you still need to spend more than $130 on a soundbar — although the Roku’s ability to add the subwoofer and rear-channel speakers does give you a clear upgrade path if you want. The $130 Roku Streambar is for people who value small size and simplicity yet still want better sound and streaming for their TV. It’s easy to connect and set up (one cable!), it’s just as easy to use and its streamer behaves like an ordinary Roku in every respect. And that’s a good thing.
Editor’s note, Aug. 6, 2024: Since this review was written, Sling TV has increased the cost of Sling Blue to $45 and Sling Orange to $40, while Sling Orange & Blue has become $60. Due to ongoing changes in the competitive marketplace, we have removed the Editors’ Choice award and will update this review as soon as possible. The following is as it originally ran on Sept. 21, 2021.
Like
Solid selection of channels for the price
Numerous choices and add-ons
Optional $99 AirTV 2 tuner for local channels
Don’t like
No local channels beyond NBC and Fox in a few cities
Package options can be confusing
Limited DVR
AirTV channels don’t work on browsers or Apple TV
Live TV streaming services and streaming devices are designed to replace cable TV by letting you stream live channels over the internet. Yet for the budget-conscious TV viewer, not all services are created equal: For instance, YouTube TV offers a lot of channels but it costs twice as much as the cord-cutter-friendly Sling TV. Starting at $35, Sling TV offers an excellent value with plenty of channels on offer, and it finally looks the business with its new coat of paint.
Sling TV is different from rivals because it offers two main plans for the same $35 entry price: Sling Orange and Sling Blue. They share many of the same channels (like CNN, History and TNT) but others are exclusive to one or the other. Sling TV Blue is essentially the Fox and NBC option, while Sling Orange is the ESPN and Disney package.
The biggest downside to both is that if you want a full slate of local channels — namely your local ABC,
CBS
,
Fox
and
NBC
stations — you’ll have to augment Sling TV with an over-the-air antenna and even something like the $99 AirTV 2 DVR. While the company recently integrated local streaming startup LoCast into its program lineup the service has since been suspended. Meanwhile, more expensive alternatives such as Hulu Plus Live TV do offer local channels with no antenna required.
In January this year, Sling TV increased the price on its two main packages from $30 to $35 while also increasing the DVR storage to 50 hours (up from 10). Existing customers got to keep their $30 price until Aug. 1 but now pay the same as newer patrons.
Despite its lack of local channels Sling TV remains my favorite affordable live TV streamer for the money, and the Blue plan in particular is a great deal. Even with that slight price bump you can still save money compared to cable, and Sling TV Blue remains the CNET Editors’ Choice as the best budget live TV streaming service.
Read more:YouTube TV vs. Sling TV: Which live TV streaming service is best for you?
What is Sling TV, anyway?
The upgraded Sling TV interface is now available on Roku, Fire TV and Android TV.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Sling TV is a subscription service that lets you stream a selection of TV channels live over the internet. The channels are just like the ones offered by cable and satellite TV, but Sling has fewer of them and costs less money every month. You can watch Sling TV on televisions using the Sling TV app on media streamers (like Roku, Amazon Fire TV), smart TV systems
LG
and
Samsung
) and
game consoles
(Xbox Series S and X), as well as to
phones
,
tablets
and computers, no cable box required.
Sling TV was the first of its kind, having debuted in 2016, but it now has a bunch of competitors at different prices, including Hulu Plus Live TV, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, Philo and FuboTV. For ease of categorization, I’ve separated these services into budget ($35 and under) and premium (over $50) services. Even with this year’s price hike, Sling TV can still be considered a budget service, alongside the $25 Philo (as of Sept. 21, 2021).
Of the two $35 tiers, I believe Sling Blue offers the best deal for most people. It has more channels than Orange and allows up to three people to watch different streams at once, while Sling Orange only allows one stream at a time. You can combine the two Blue and Orange services for $55 a month, but you’re only getting five more “top” channels than Blue (though this does include ESPN and ESPN 2). If you’re already paying that much, then FuboTV ($65) or YouTube TV ($65) are better options as they offer way more channels (including locals) and improved DVRs.
Sling is also the only live TV service to offer a bunch of add-on channel packages. You can pay $5 or $10 monthly for packages such as Sports Extra, Comedy Extra, Hollywood Extra, The Best of Spanish TV and more. The channels in each vary depending on whether you have Blue or Orange, and some channels (like Animal Planet and Nickelodeon) are missing completely, but between its Extras and multiple base packages, Sling offers more ways to customize your channel lineup than any of its competitors.
The guide
Sarah Tew/CNET
Check out the chart at the end of this article for all of the top 100 channels Sling’s numerous services offer. It’s a condensed version of our complete list of the Top 100 channels offered by every service.
Sling stays inexpensive by eschewing most local channels. The Blue package has Fox and/or NBC in a handful of major cities but doesn’t include any ABC or CBS stations. The Orange package offers no local channels, period. As any cord-cutter knows, local channels are also available by connecting an HD antenna to the back of your television. Sling TV offers another option, however: the AirTV series of over-the-air streamers. The AirTVs connect to an antenna and your network and streams any local channels you receive into the Sling TV interface, integrating them right into Sling’s program guide and other areas. You can also connect an external hard drive to the AirTV to record over-the-air channels. Other OTA DVRs are available too, although no others feed into Sling’s interface.
The $100 AirTV 2 is designed to supplement missing local channels.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Whether you use an AirTV or not, Sling includes a cloud DVR for free that allows you to record almost any streaming channel on the service (the only exceptions are Local Now, ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network Plus). It comes with 50 hours of storage but the free version won’t let you protect your recorded shows. You have to pay an additional $5 a month for 200 hours of storage and the ability to prevent recordings from becoming automatically erased.
What’s Sling TV like to use?
Sling TV’s new interface has a side-mounted menu which lets the larger thumbnails shine.
Ty Pendlebury/CNET
Until now, the user interface has been the worst part of the experience, it simply lacked the sophistication of its rivals. The new menu system looks similar to Disney Plus in that it organizes your content horizontally on the left hand side. While the previous interface had way too many options, the menu has now been whittled down to Search, Home, Guide DVR and On-Demand. It’s more aesthetically pleasing in addition to being easier to use.
The Home screen replaces the old My TV
Sarah Tew/CNET
Regardless of which version you are using — new or old — navigation is zippy, and I found it was easy to find the shows I wanted to watch and record. With the multiple discovery screens, including the main Home screen, there was plenty of programming available even when I didn’t know what I was in the mood for.
Sling has made numerous upgrades to its cloud DVR since launch, such as the bump to 50 hours of recording space. In addition it now allows you to record and live-pause channels you couldn’t before, including the Disney and ESPN channels bundled with the Orange packages. Of course, there’s also its…
Integration with AirTV
Remote streaming local channels from the AirTV 2 on an iPhone.
Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET
While they’re not the most elegant OTA solutions I’ve seen, the AirTV 2 and higher-end AirTV Anywhere are still solid options for integrating local channels into Sling TV. They will let users tune in to all of the available channels in the area and, in my own tests in New York, I was able to view and record 75-plus different stations.
While the AirTV Anywhere incorporates four tuners and an integrated 1 terabyte drive, the AirTV 2 requires a compatible external hard drive to turn it into a DVR. The company says, “Hard drives must be larger than 50GB, AirTV 2 currently supports recording up to 2TB of storage for DVR.” I connected a WD 2TB Elements Portable without issue.
Watch this: Live TV streaming services for cord cutters: How to choose the best one for you
During my initial tests with the AirTV 2 I was unable to pause live TV, and while I am unable to test the device again, I can confirm that the AirTV Anywhere will enable you to freeze the action for up to 60 minutes.
The AirTV recorders have one main limitation that stunt their usefulness, however. The AirTV doesn’t work on Apple TV or via a browser — you won’t be able to see any of the OTA channels or watch any of the recordings provided by AirTV. To use the tuner, you’ll need to use the Sling TV app on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, iOS or Android, or via the AirTV mini or AirTV player.
Also, be aware that the AirTV can’t record streaming channels, just local ones, and so you’re still limited to either the 50- or 200-hour recording times there.
Setup of the AirTV devices has also been streamlined and users can now access them from within the Sling TV app’s settings: It’s called Over the Air Channels. There is no longer any need to download a separate app.
Should you subscribe to Sling TV?
While you can save some money with Philo ($25), it is definitely worth spending a bit more on Sling TV Blue. The upgrade to the DVR alone makes even the recent $5 upcharge seem justified, especially when other rivals cost almost twice as much. The experience is better than Philo overall; it’s zippier and it offers more channels. It’s not perfect, but it’s getting better as a cable replacement, and it should save you a chunk of change in the long term. In the absence of LoCast just be sure to have a local channel contingency in place before you start.
The chart below compares the top 100 channels on Sling to its two budget rivals as well as YouTube TV. “Yes” means the channel is available on the cheapest pricing tier, “No” means the channel isn’t available at all on that service and “$” means the channel is available for an extra fee, either a la carte or as part of a more expensive package or add-on.
