Recently invested in a phone or tablet and wanting to stream all your favourite music, but unsure as to which platform to use? Or simply wanting to switch between services but want to weigh up the pros and cons first? Here at iBeani we have all the vital information regarding heated competitors Apple Music and Spotify.
Memberships
Although given a three-month free-trial, there is no sort of long standing free version of Apple Music. On the same token, Spotify does in fact have a “free” tier, but is heavily supported by ads and puts a restriction on how many times you can skip songs. Both offer a monthly membership cost of £9.99 per person or £14.99 for a family bundle that can support up to 6 users.
Both services allow for the user to create and share their own custom playlists. Spotify gives you the choice to link your Facebook account, in order to connect with your friends and see what they're listening to. You can also privatise playlists that you don’t want public to your friends and other users.
Exclusivity
You may be wondering if there are any perks for choosing one platform over the other, because as of right now there aren’t any prominent differences, other than their branding.
Spotify carries over 30 million songs worldwide and offers live exclusive sessions and covers by all different kinds of artists. However, not all artists are available for streaming as they have sided with Apple Music. That being said, Apple Music has artists available exclusive to them such as that of Taylor Swift.
Quality
For those that can easily clock sound quality, encoding may be a very important factor that will contribute to your overall choice of one platform over the other.
Apple Music’s current highest quality is 256kbps, whereas Spotify’s is an extreme 320 kbps. Both allow for a crisp sound, however true music enthusiasts will be able to detect the difference.
Discovering New Music
Both platforms offer services that can introduce you to new music that, based off of your taste, aim to imitate your playlist patterns and genres you may gravitate towards.
Spotify has “Discover Weekly” that is updated every Monday morning and gives you 2 hours’ worth of new music that you can easily sift through what you like and dislike. From that, Spotify can get a deeper understanding and cater more specifically next time. Spotify also has automated playlists for users to browse when wanting to listen to music to reflect their mood or activity, i.e. motivation, gaming, running.
Apple Music’s discovery feature is under the “For You” category and is curated by professionals, rather than being filtered by an automated system like that of Spotify. This means that you may be more likely to find something you like first time, rather than the ‘trial and error’ tactic of Discover Weekly.
Connectivity
Apple Music is obviously supported by its counterpart AirPlay meaning that the music can be streamed through other devices, being ideal for parties. Spotify has its own equivalent of AirPlay, being Spotify Connect which allows for the same sort of uses and again being ideal for hosting social gatherings where you will want to stream music loudly.
Podcasts
Not only can both of these platforms stream your favourite music, they both provide a selection of podcasts.
Apple Music gives you the opportunity to save all your podcasts through iTunes and listen to them all in one place, being the Apple Music app. Spotify, on the other hand, allows you to stream podcasts freely when connected to the internet. Users with the Spotify premium membership have the opportunity to download both podcasts and music.
So, which one is better?
Non-Apple users don’t have a choice in the matter, as Apple Music isn’t supported on software that isn’t their own. However, Apple users have a vaster choice. Spotify and Apple Music both have alternative features that ultimately do similar things but when it gets down to the nitty gritty details, it is all about personal preference. Craving a crisper sound? Spotify. Wanting a tailored playlist to reflect your music taste? Apple Music. Sum up the pros and cons of each platform and then you can decide which one may suit your personal preference better.
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