So you want to build your own music streaming service? I get it - after years of being frustrated with Spotify and friends, you’re ready to take control. The good news is, it’s not as complicated as you might think.

There are really three main things you need to figure out, and once you’ve got these sorted, you’re well on your way:

Server Hardware

Let’s start with the foundation - you need something to run your music server on. Here’s the thing: you don’t need some massive, expensive setup. A Raspberry Pi 4 is perfect for getting started. Seriously, this little $50 computer can handle streaming music to multiple devices without breaking a sweat.

I started with a Pi 4 with 4GB of RAM, threw a decent SD card in there, and it just worked. You can always upgrade later if you need more storage or processing power, but for testing the waters? The Pi is your friend.

Server Software

Now you need software that actually serves up your music. After trying a bunch of different options, Navidrome is my choice, hands down. It’s lightweight, has a clean web interface, works great on mobile, and supports all the streaming protocols you’d want.

The best part? It’s dead simple to set up, even on that Raspberry Pi. No complicated databases to configure, no licensing fees - just install it, point it at your music folder, and you’re streaming.

Music Tagging

Here’s where most people get stuck, and honestly, it’s the most important part. Your music collection is probably a mess of inconsistent tags, missing album art, and files with names like “track01.mp3.” Beets is the software you want for this.

Beets is like having a music librarian that never gets tired. It’ll automatically tag your music, fetch album art, organize your files, and even help you find duplicates. Yeah, there’s a learning curve, but trust me - once you’ve got beets working, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

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That’s it - three components, and you’ve got your own personal Spotify. Each of these deserves a deeper dive (which I’ll cover in future posts), but this gives you the roadmap. Start with the Pi, get Navidrome running, then let beets sort out your music library.

Ready to dive deeper into any of these? Check out the posts tagged with Server Hardware, Server Software, or Tagging for the nitty-gritty details.