Apple Music vs Spotify: What's new for each service? Apple Music: time has passed: Apple Music just celebrated its fifth anniversary. With WWDC 2020 on the way, we wonder if Apple's planned iPhone 12 event in September will bring new Apple Music features. Spotify: If you live with someone who uses Spotify Premium, you can save money on your own subscription by signing up for Spotify Premium Duo, the music streaming service's latest subscription tier. The feature allows two people to share a Spotify subscription plan, while maintaining their own individual Premium accounts and connections, allowing you to save on costs without sacrificing free ad-free listening and creating your own reading lists. The world of music has always been about rivalries. There's Taylor Swift vs. Kanye, Tupac vs. Biggie, Eminem vs....everyone? Now the rise of the music streaming service over the past decade means you can add a new rivalry to the mix: Spotify vs Apple Music. While there are a number of streaming services you can choose from, the only two candidates you need to worry about are the Swedish-born Spotify with its freemium music model and Apple Music, which replaces iTunes, which has exclusive albums. and a monstrous one. Library of 50 million songs. That being said, Spotify currently has the advantage of a much larger user base. Spotify is currently the world's most popular streaming service, with 113 million subscribers as of October last year, and growing; and this despite increasing competition from the likes of Apple Music, as well as Jay-Z-owned Tidal. This is because Spotify doesn't ask for money up front, and you can spend years on it without paying a dime. Of course, Apple can offer a free trial, but at some point you're going to need a pony. So which service should you spend your entertainment budget on? To help you choose the right one for you, we've detailed the pros and cons of each service so you can sign up and start listening.
Apple Music
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How big is your music library? Apple Music has an extensive library of songs, approximately 50 million, in a wide range of genres. So if you're into French skiffle or Brazilian electro pop and having trouble finding your more obscure artists, chances are Apple Music has you covered. Plus, being an Apple product, its interface is easy to navigate on both a Mac/PC and more portable forms like smartphones or tablets, and you can download tracks to take with you when you're away from a Wi-Fi link. . It's a feature that Apple Music shares with Spotify, but it's vital if you want users to stay subscribed to the paid version. How much does it cost? Unlike Spotify, which offers free and/or paid versions, Apple Music only offers a free trial before requiring you to sign up. This is understandable from a corporate selling point, especially with so many exclusives serving as a golden carrot for potential users, but not having a long-term free version form ultimately defeats the desire Apple will increase its overall customer base. users. Free trials are limited, especially for those who want to experience a long-term service. Giving users limited access to the full experience of their service may seem like a better deal in the short term, but it suffers in the long run compared to the free/ad-filled version that Spotify offers. Still, having three different payment plans shows that Apple wants its users to be ready to spit out a more proactive approach. Having a cheaper plan for students ($4.99 / £4.99 / AU$5.99) is a lot (but not exclusive since Spotify offers something similar), especially since this price always gives you access to all facets of their service. For everyone, it's $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$11.99 for an individual, or £14.99 / £14.99 / AU$17.99 for a family subscription for up to six people. Today's best Apple Music deals
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What exclusive benefits does Apple Music offer?
Certainly, Apple has gone to great lengths to eliminate Spotify and the small photo music streaming services by signing some of the biggest names in popular music with exclusive deals on new albums.
Apple Music has boasted the release of exclusive albums from Drake, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Frank Ocean, Future, and more, and it's a strategy that has really taken hold of Spotify over the years. Of course, if you're not a fan of artists initially coming out exclusively on Apple Music, this feature might not be a game changer, but if you are, it's a huge plus.
Apple Music also offers Beats 1, leading the way for a broader push toward original streaming on the service. It is a 24/7 radio station offering 24 hour playlists and live DJs. It's an Apple-supported internet radio station, so it's about as smooth as you can imagine with former Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe and more on its roster. With Apple already planning more stations for the service, this original streaming angle is one facet Spotify simply doesn't have the answer for.
There is also an exclusive social feature called Connect that is integrated into the Apple Music package. It's basically a way for artists to connect with fans in a more intimate way, providing access to new singles, videos, and messages.
Connect may seem designed for larger groups, but it's open to any artist, offering a service not unlike what MySpace was in its heyday. For followers, it's just a simple but effective way to get a little closer to the groups you love.
Finally, there is the exclusive video content. Thanks to its integration with iTunes, the ability to browse and play tons of music videos adds a dimension that Spotify simply doesn't offer. And Apple Music doubles down visually with original shows like Carpool Karaoke: The Series (a longer version of James Corden's famous skit on The Late, Late Show) and Planet of the Apps (a Dragon's Den-esque show) for developers from applications and software).
How does it look?
While the desktop and laptop versions are great to look at (the aesthetics, after all, that's Apple's thing), there's a disparity in user experience between the two: Mac, PC, or Apple Music laptop is very higher than what you find on your phone or tablet. Continuous use of larger images and frames accommodates a larger screen, and it's really easy to navigate your playlists, exclusives, and your imported iTunes library.
That said, the settings are adequate for using larger tablets, as having more screen real estate makes the icons larger and a higher concentration of content is a much more enjoyable experience.
The smartphone-optimized version isn't broken by any means, but its large icon design often makes it a bit difficult to use because it doesn't use a phone's smaller screen to its advantage.
Spotify
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How big is your music library?
Spotify currently has over 50 million songs. Spotify's strong influx of tracks helped it get off the ground in its early days, and with 40,000 reported tracks added on average each day, it shows no signs of slowing down.
The strong influx of songs from Spotify contributed to its rejection in the stratosphere, with a heavy emphasis on promoting new songs and revolutionary artists. Organized playlists are almost always the first thing you see when you load up a version of the app, and the service apparently creates playlists for just about every music subgenre. These are also constantly updated, so your favorites never get scratchy after long use.
Take a look at Weekly, the playlist based on your listening preferences, has leapt in the last few years with the nuances of its suggestions, although the Apple For For playlist (introduced in 2016) now offers almost the same functionality, so it's not as special as it was before.
What are the prices for the premium plan?
So now we come to one of the main reasons Spotify has always kept Apple Music at bay: paid and unpaid access. Although it has tried several different versions over the years, Spotify has always gone back to the basic formula that worked best: anyone can sign up and access every track in its catalog for free.
There are ads every few songs, but you can customize 15 playlists that contain the songs you want. You also have access to curated playlists like Discover Weekly. In the past, you didn't have full control over the reading and could only skip a limited number of times per hour.
It's a business model that may seem crazy on paper, but it's the perfect way to grow your user base by making the whole experience uncomfortable just to entice those users to take premium paid accounts.
Rather than lock content behind a paywall, Spotify cleverly seals off features that simply make the service more dynamic. Do you want to listen to music without ads? Do you want to download as many songs as you want on your smartphone so that you can listen to them when you are not at home? Do you want to be able to skip songs whenever you want on your tablet/smartphone? Then it's time for Premium.
If you want everything Spotify has to offer, including choosing any song with unlimited skip privileges and no ads, you can get a personal Spotify Premium plan for € 9.99 / € 9.99 / 11, AU € 99, while the plan familiar Spotify, which offers simultaneous listening for up to five users, at a price of € 14.99 / € 14.99 / AU € 17.99.
Like Apple Music, Spotify also offers discounted plans for students, with full access to Spotify's library for just $4.99 / €4.99 / €5.99. However, you will need to check your registration status.
There is also a new subscription level for friends, associates or family members who live at the same address. Spotify Premium Duo allows two people to share a Spotify subscription plan, while maintaining their own individual Premium accounts and connections, allowing you to save on costs without sacrificing free ad-free listening and creating your own playlists.
At €12.99 / €12.99 / AU$15.99 per month, it's much cheaper than buying two separate Premium subscriptions, which cost €9.99 / €9.99 / €11.99 AU per month each. If you share the cost with your listening partner, you're looking at less than $7 / £7 / AU$8 per month to get ad-free Spotify and listen to tracks on demand in any order you want.
Today's best Spotify deals What exclusive features does Spotify offer?
Here's the thing, right now, you really don't get much that really sells the exclusive use of Spotify.
However, the streaming giant is focused on promoting revolutionary new songs and artists, through organized playlists like New Music Friday that acts as a launching pad for rookie artists to get into the big day.
Organized playlists are almost always the first thing you see when you load up a version of the app, and the service apparently creates playlists for just about every music subgenre. These are also constantly updated, so your favorites never get scratchy after long use.
Spotify also has a great podcast offering that works well.
Another advantage is the weak data mode. Audio cache when you lose signal and use less than your data allowance. 75% less according to Spotify.
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How does it look? Spotify has had few updates over the years, but it's hard to deny how well the current user interface works. Unlike Apple Music, it is a service that has been clearly redesigned and modified with smaller screens in mind thanks to the multitude of options available on the screen at any time. Whether you're downloading an album or playlist to your phone, or starting an artist-based radio channel, it's always an intuitive experience. The tile system is small enough to make it easy to select new albums and playlists, while also grouping a large amount of content into a content timeline that is ultimately organized based on what you've listened to and what you like. what can you wish for be addressed below. Spotify can have as many playlists as albums, but it's a strategy that works because its algorithms ultimately tailor the app to each user. Being able to work with multiple platforms is another big advantage. Being able to work on almost any type of smartphone and tablet increases the reach of your audience, and the user interfaces of all these platforms are uniformly solid. Being able to play Spotify from your console, like the version that runs on PS4, is a great mark for the service, as is the ease with which you set it up. Overall, Spotify is currently winning the UI war.
Verdict
In general, both services have their pros and cons and each will suit a user looking for different things from a music streaming platform: Spotify offers a more comprehensive experience that's effectively open to everyone, but its mobile experience is limited. unless you are willing to go Premium. Apple's three-month free trial gives you a taste of its service, but its dainty mobile design remains at odds with its impressive library and exclusive content. As it stands, Spotify is still the strongest service overall, but unless it starts to ramp up its original content, Apple Music won't always stay in second place, and that's not true. Don't even factor in the increase in tidal pressure.
- Regardless of which service you choose, you will need the best headphones to get the most out of your music streaming subscription.