How to listen

Local Files Club, true to its name, sells its releases as DRM-free files that you can listen to anywhere that plays audio files. This used to be a lot more common, but now that everything is streaming, we thought it best to write up a little guide on how to listen to audio files once you download them, in case you’ve forgotten.

Looking for our shows? Head over to Bandcamp.

Streaming from Bandcamp

If you have a Bandcamp account, your purchased Local Files Club release will automatically be added to your collection. (If your purchase is missing from your collection, check out this support article from Bandcamp.)

From there, you can stream the release directly from the Bandcamp site or from the Bandcamp app, available on iOS and Android.

This is the easiest and fastest way to listen to your purchase, but you should always download a backup of your purchase.

Download your files

When you purchase a Local Files Club release, you’ll be given the option to download it in a wide variety of file formats. You’ll likely be familiar with MP3 and AAC. You’ll also have access to high quality formats like FLAC and WAV.

Not sure what format to download? MP3 320 is your best bet for wide interoperability while maintaining sound quality. For lossless listening, we recommend FLAC for their reduced file size compared to WAV. If you want to backup your purchases, we suggest FLAC or WAV.

Add your files to Spotify or Apple Music

If you’re a Spotify or Apple Music subscriber and want to use their apps to listen to your Local Files Club purchases, you’re in luck.

Spotify allows you to add—get this—local files to your library on desktop, iOS, and Android. Just follow these instructions. Note that these files will not be uploaded to Spotify’s servers and will not sync between your devices. You’ll need to add them everywhere you listen to Spotify.

Apple Music allows you to store your own audio files on their servers and sync them between your devices. Here are instructions for how to import your music on Mac and Windows, and here are instructions for turning on Sync Library.

We highly suggest backing up your files in another location.

Or use another app

There are many other applications that can play and organize your local audio files.

VLC is a popular choice—it can play pretty much any file type you throw at it, and is available on almost every operating system you can imagine.

Doppler on Mac and iOS is a personal favorite. It’s a straightforward and well-designed library management and music player that will bring you back to the glory days of managing your iTunes library.

Other popular options: foobar200 (free, works on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS) and MusicBee (PC)

You might also prefer an audiobook player like BookPlayer (iOS) or Smart AudioBook Player (Android). These apps include controls like smart rewind that are well-suited for audiodramas.

And if you love local files but want to make them available over the internet, a Plex media server may be in your future.