Just yesterday I paid my annual $24.99 iTunes Match subscription to keep my music library synced between my laptops, phones, and HomePods. It’s a beautiful thing, but it feels tenuous every time that renewal goes in. Will it be my last? I hope not!

There is just something about actually owning the music that appeals to me and my wife (and yes, we’re children of the original iTunes era, when you could load up your playlist and then click the cool nuclear-looking button in iTunes to burn it to a CD). It won’t last forever, but I’ll keep with it till it dies because it works.