Music Resolutions for 2026: Less algorithms, more people

New year, same ears, but hopefully better habits.

Music resolutions are easier to keep than gym memberships and far more rewarding, and there’s many reasons to address your music ones right now.

Here are a few intentions worth sticking to if you want to reconnect with why music matters to you in the first place.

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Rediscover the iPod / MP3 Player

I’ve already seen some people I know dig out their old iPod on social media this year. It’s a digital detox of a music kind.

It’s a wider thing. Dazed wrote an article called Why are MP3 players making a comeback? in November and there has been a trend of customising iPods in recent years too, and yes, a Bluetooth version is possible so you don’t have to use those old wired headphones.

 “The MP3 player is a retrieval process, a recovery of what the streaming platform age erased: intentional listening and bounded attention.”

Technology expert and behavioural psychologist Bob Hutchins

I still have fond memories of my first MP3 player – the NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra.

I specifically remember listening to Alicia Keys’ song ‘You Don’t Know My Name’ on it the day I got it for Christmas 2003 – looking back, Mos Def was in the video, and you can hear Dilla-esque production on the track – Kanye produced it (I only just looked it up for the first time ever) – no wonder I loved it.

There is something quietly radical about listening to music on a device that does only one thing. No other app distractions, no notifications, no algorithmic nudging, less temptation to skip after ten seconds. It’s the same reason you are being advertised the Brick focus app for your smartphone.

Digging out an old iPod or dedicated music player forces you to engage with albums as they were meant to be heard and a limited music library. You choose what is available – 10 songs, 1 album, 300 songs, whatever.

Curating your own library puts control back in your hands. You listen with intention instead of inertia. Music becomes an active choice again, not something that just happens to you.

Speaking of…

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Get off Spotify

Or at the very least, stop letting it decide what you hear.

I’ve already covered this extensively – there are so many moral and ethical reasons to stop using Spotify – I recommend Qobuz currently – but another reason is not letting Spotify dictate your listening habits. With all good intentions, the more you use Spotify, the more likely it will shape your taste.

I like Qobuz because it’s recommendations are editorial-focused and by people who love music like me.

Streaming platforms are convenient, but they have quietly reshaped listening into something disposable, less intentional. Endless playlists, background noise, music reduced to vibes. Artists become data points, not people.

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Support artists direct

You could go further than simply changing streaming services. Buy more physical or digital music directly, use Bandcamp to directly support artists, who make very little from streaming as we know.

Buy gig tickets. Go to more local gigs.
Some of the best music you will hear this year will happen in small rooms. Local gigs are where scenes form, where bands learn how to be, and where audiences actually participate and contribute rather than consume. Plus, they are affordable.

Take a punt on a new act – check gig news and pick something unknown to you. My friends and I have a Whatsapp group where we try to go see an act we don’t know for a brand new novel experience. It doesn’t happen often but it’s a nice intent.

There are so many events happening. See new independent Irish event listing site FlyPost.ie for a direct listing. Check Eventbrite. RA. Look at a venue’s website. Scan the gig guide which I’ve done every week for years now.

Support the spaces, promoters, and artists keeping live music on your doorstep.

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Buy more vinyl

Not as an investment. Not as decor. But as a commitment to your own cultural interests. Building on the intentionality of making a choice in streaming, build your record collection.

Vinyl slows you down. It requires care. It asks you to listen properly, to sit with an album rather than skim it. Liner notes, artwork, sequencing, all the details that disappear in a streaming app come back into focus.

You do not need a massive collection. You just need records you actually love and return to, that you can actively listen to, rather than passively hear.

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Our Listen Closely album listening parties on the last Wednesday of the month in the Big Romance put the emphasis back on listening to a vinyl album in full, in a social setting with chat and context about it. It’s been a lovely thing to do. Our next one is January 28th and it’s Massive Attack’s Mezzanine (tickets on sale later this week).

We’ve done classic modern records from Outkast, Boards Of Canada, Madvillain, yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Kendrick, The Prodigy , Bon Iver and many more over the last two years.

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Buy more merch

Streaming does very little for most artists. Merch does a lot.

A t-shirt, tote bag, or poster is not just a souvenir, it is direct support. It helps artists tour, record, and continue making work. It’s also its own story. You remember what show you bought it, who you saw, who you were with.

If you care about an artist, this is one of the simplest ways to show it.

Also, some music venues are charging an exorbitant percentage of music merch sales. I spoke to Canadian artist Cadence Weapon about it in 2022 and the issue hasn’t gone away. We are seeing more popup style merch stalls for artists for this reason (see Kneecap in Dalymount last month /Merchy Christmas).

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Trust Humans Curators

I’ll state the obvious with my own declaration of interest. Visit Nialler9 regularly for new music tips but find more than one person to help you discover new music. There are worthy curators like Derrick Gee, Bill Brewster, Margeaux, Anthony Fantano, District or Totally Frogaret out there.

Call me old-fashioned but I don’t LOVE keeping up with Instagram or Tik Tok-only curators as you are relying on the algorithm to show you their work but many curators/recommenders have Patreons and Discords (like I do) so you’re not just reliant on whatever the tech giant is serving you, and that’s a good thing.

And Substack sites and newsletters are a fertile ground for new music writing and discovery too – Anois Os Ard, First Floor, Fourth Best, The Odhracle and The Line Of Best Fit to name a few.

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Reject AI music and algos

Music is a creative human endeavour – an expression of human experience and feeling – no amount of AI music slop is going to match that. The people who are listening to acts like the Velvet Sundown aren’t music fans, but you are.

AI-generated music is designed to imitate, optimise, and fill space. It has no lived experience, no risk, no intent. Supporting real artists means choosing music made by people with something to say, not systems trained to sound like something you already heard before.

It’s going to get harder to identify fully AI artists in 2026 – the wispy airy artefacts of the vocals on current AI generated songs are a telltale sign but it’s going to get harder to detect. I’ve already learned that lesson.

The tidal wave of AI Slop is only growing bigger. THE AI SLOPOCALYPSE will require us to make spaces where AI isn’t welcome.

Seek out originality, imperfection, and personality. That is where music will always live.

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Music resolutions do not need to be dramatic. Small changes in how you listen, buy, and show up can reshape your relationship with music entirely. Less passive consumption. More presence. More connection. Onwards to 2026 – Nialler9’s 21st year!