Playlist downloads can be made available to free users.

My point was, if people are unhappy with the price increase, why go to a platform they dislike when they can simply get around the dilemma with tools people in similar situations have made.

I don't think saying you want to pay to support a multi-billion dollar company is a good answer for "why" - maybe ease of use is, but if that were the case, why move to Spotify if you dislike it? That's not ease of use.

I'm curious what features you're getting from paid YT music that free doesn't have and/or couldn't be unlocked with AdBlock or YouTube vanced?

Since you're said your school doesn't have access, your public library very well may instead. Usually a school or university would have access to a catalog of research papers, so if you're near a public university, you may be able to use their library to research as well.