Spotify is providing a much better service than radio and it needs the internet to function, but it also isn't as cheap as a radio broadcast. Don't judge the entire service by the free plan, which probably shouldn't have existed in the first place. But that's how most services attract their users these days, just burn money until you lock in enough people to start monetizing.

I'm on a family plan with a few others and it costs a few euros a month for each of us. Lets you download music too, so cell service isn't even required. I've never had an ad; people complain about sponsored recommendations, but Spotify is "pushing" tiny Japanese indie bands with less than 500 monthly listeners on me. All my Daily Mixes are similar deep cuts. I find it hard to believe anyone is sponsoring those and no way radio would ever have played any of these, unless it's a short-distance pirate broadcaster in the home town of these indie bands.