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Different Music Streaming Platforms – Pros And Cons
Sometimes trying to find the right music streaming platform can be tough. There are so many options that it can become very overwhelming. There are wide ranges of platforms, it is hard to know what to choose. That’s why we have created a pros and cons list! You can pick and choose by narrowing it down for your needs, whether you want to listen to podcasts, songs, watch videos, or using them all together!
Some of the many different music streaming platforms out there are Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more. Since there are so many different options, and many cost money, before you spend the money on one, you should do research about each one so that you can be better informed. This is an in-depth look at each major music streaming platform and its benefits and drawbacks (in no particular order).
Spotify
Spotify is a music streaming platform but it is not only for music. Spotify also allows you to stream podcasts and even watch videos. With over 70 million songs, chances are you will always find what you are looking for. Lots of people use Spotify because of its great design, it is easy to use, and has many features. Spotify is also available on all devices including IOS, Android, Windows, and even TVs.
The Pros Of Using Spotify
- A huge variety of features, like helping you find songs.
Spotify is many people’s favorite music service for its astonishing new music discovery algorithm. It uses the music you listen to and the music you like to help you find more music and artists, this feature is available in the free version too!
- The design is easy and intuitive to understand.
Spotify has a minimalistic design; many people with no prior knowledge can figure out how to use it in minutes! It is very nice for people that don’t like looking at and using an unaesthetic interface.
- Spotify has a free tier so you can still use it without paying.
There are a few music streaming services that you need to pay to even use and don’t even have a free option. That means you can’t test it out and decide if you even like it or not without paying.
- You can listen to music in the background.
Many music streaming platforms require the application to be open without any other applications. Spotify can be minimized and will still play music on your phone, so you can do other things and have other applications open, such as working or relaxing by playing online casino games. You can listen to music in any genre to help productivity and wellbeing.
The Cons Of Using Spotify
- Free Version doesn’t have all the music management features.
A lot of things you would use day to day when using Spotify are missing in the free version. Like skipping songs, or choosing exactly which song you want to use.
- Music Streaming is not Lossless.
There are many music fanatics out there that like a megabyte or more music bitrate, with Spotify the highest bitrate we can use on Spotify now is 320 kilobytes, which for many people is a bummer.
- Excessive ads.
Ahh yes, the ads. Everyone hates them; on the free version of Spotify, you get ads all the time, and they can be very annoying and disrupting. Many of the ads thank you for sticking with Spotify when you would be much more likely to use Spotify if they didn’t interrupt your music listening to thank you.
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music streaming service aimed at iPhone users. Apple Music has over 60 million songs. Many people choose Apple Music because of how well integrated it is into IOS. if you have an Android device there isn’t a point in using this service, and you should probably look elsewhere. It is available on Mac, iPhone, and Android. Apple Music costs $10 a month.
The Pros Of Using Apple Music
- Well integrated into the ecosystem.
With anything made from Apple, it works very well with the ecosystem. If you own an Apple device, the best choice is going to be Apple Music. If you have more than 1 Apple device, it’s pretty much guaranteed you would get the most out of Apple Music, over other competitors.
- Good sound quality.
Apple Music has pretty good sound quality. And with the promise of lossless audio and spatial audio coming soon, this is a great thing to consider if you’re an audiophile.
The Cons Of Using Apple Music
- No free version.
If you aren’t eager to pay just to use the app, then Apple Music probably is not best for you. Apple Music costs $9.99 per month.
- Mainly targeted at iPhones.
Apple Music was created by apple and is targeted at Apple phones. If you own an Android device there is not much of a reason to use Apple Music because you would be missing some of the features that iOS users would have and there are better competitors for Android.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music is a new music platform; it has video support because it works off the Youtube database. The biggest problem YouTube Music has to face is getting its way into the market. The majority of music listeners use Spotify and Apple Music and they do not have a reason to switch. It is available on desktop, IOS, and Android.
The Pros Of Using YouTube Music
- It has Youtube’s algorithm.
YouTube is very well known for its algorithm that decides what will end up on your home screen. Similarly, there is also an algorithm that is used on Youtube Music and it does not need to relearn all your preferences.
- Comes with the video.
The majority of the songs on YouTube Music are coming straight from YouTube, which is an online video service. Many people upload songs to YouTube with a music video to go with them. On YouTube Music, you can watch the music video as well as listening.
- Has a free version.
Unlike other music services out there, *ahem* Apple Music *ahem* there is a free version of YouTube Music, although many features you may want to use are missing.
The Cons Of Using Youtube Music
- The audio is very compressed.
YouTube has so much data on their servers that their songs can be very compressed.
Most of the time you will not notice when watching a Youtube video. But when you are an audiophile, and you like lossless audio, YouTube Music may not be the right service for you.
- You can’t turn off the screen.
This is a major inconvenience for many people; when you listen to music on your mobile you would like to be able to turn the screen off. But with the free plan on Youtube Music, you can’t have your song play in the background.
- Lacks other content, like podcasts.
Many people that use streaming services such as Spotify use it to listen to podcasts. Youtube Music does not support podcasts; for many people this is a big reason not to use Youtube Music.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music may not be many people’s first pick, but it is paving its way in the market because of its low price and high quality music.
The Pros Of Using Amazon Music
- Better audio than other platforms.
Amazon Music has over 50 million songs with a CD-quality bitrate of 16 bits, and millions more with 24-bit audio. Even though the majority can not hear the difference, if you are an audio fanatic this service will work fine and dandy.
- Wide range of device support.
Amazon Music is available on all sorts of devices. You can use Amazon music on your phone, desktop, and tablets via iOS and Android. On PC or Mac, you can use the web player or desktop app. You can also use Amazon Echo with Amazon Music. Making it great for all platforms.
- Cheaper than competitors.
If you are a daily Amazon user and you have Amazon Prime, you can get Amazon Music cheaper than the basic price of $9.99; you can get the service for only $7.99 which is enough of a difference to make Amazon Music worthwhile.
The Cons Of Using Amazon Music
- Less Useful Interface.
The interface of Amazon Music is close to Spotify or other competitors, but it is less dynamic, and sometimes even less reliable. This should not be a dealbreaker for most, but if you are someone that likes a minimalist and smart design, you may not enjoy using this platform.
- Music discovery is better with rivals.
Although Amazon’s music discovery is good, it still is not Spotify level. It is easy enough to find new music, but Spotify has the edge when it comes to recommendations and curated content.
- There is no free version.
Amazon Music does not have a free version, but most of the people that would use this service are using it because they have Amazon Prime, and they don’t mind paying a bit extra for music too.
Tidal
Tidal is one of the best music streaming services that offer high-quality streams. You can get the most out of your music with over 170,000 CD-quality audio to listen to, and millions more with the HiFi package. You can use Tidal on Android, iOS, Desktop, and a web-based version, all with that beautiful high res audio.
The Pros Of Using Tidal Music
- Better sound quality than rivals.
Tidal is one of the best music streaming services if you want the highest quality audio. Besides the CD quality streams, they offer the HiFi package that allows you to access millions of high-resolution audio tracks, as part of their £20 per month deal.
- Has an intuitive design.
Tidal has a good design that is easy to use. It looks clean, this is not something that you have to take into consideration. As it works just fine.
The Cons Of Using Tidal Music
- Tidal has a smaller audience.
Because their user base is only 3 million, compared to Spotify’s 155 million paying customers, and Apple Music’s 72 million customers, Tidal can not afford to make the best music app, there are fewer reviews to look at, and there is less customer support. This app is great as long as you consider these things first.
Primephonic
Primephonic, originally released in 2017, is a music streaming service tailored to classical music. With Primephonic you may find some songs that even bigger music platforms don’t have. They have over 3.5 million classical music tracks. This is a great service to use if classical music is your favorite genre. It is only available on mobile devices; there is still not a desktop app. It costs £8 a month for the basic version.
The Pros Of Using Primephonic
- New interface and features.
Primephonic has completely revamped its old design, it is noweasy to use. They also added offline playback. This makes it a breeze to listen to your music.
- Great audio.
With the more pricey plan of £10 a month you get access to 320kbps MP3 streams. And if you spend £15 a month you get amazing 24 bit FLAC audio streams, which may be worth it for many people.
The Cons Of Using Primephonic
- There is no Free version.
Primephonic does not have a free plan, but if you still want to try it, you can use the 3-month free trial which gives you plenty of time to see if you like the service.
- There still isn’t the biggest catalog.
Primephonic does not have the biggest music library, especially around contemporary classical artists, however because on other platforms it is much harder to get a hold of high res old-timey music. And chances are you are never going to finish listening to those 3.5 million songs. This shouldn’t be the biggest problem, especially since they have a lot of songs that other platforms don’t.
Conclusion
All of the streaming music platforms are good and worthwhile; there is no simple answer to which one is the best of all. Before deciding which platform to use, consider what features are most important to you and decide based on them before signing up.
