Introduction
Who remembers music from the good old days of vinyl? Honestly, no one. Those days are so long gone that mentioning them feels like a different era. And you are not wrong. Vinyl was a different era, as was the one that saw Apple iPod and Microsoft’s Zune Player. Today, the world is about streaming music in qualities as high as 300+ kbps. Even lossless streaming is starting to become common.
The market is filled with music streaming services now. If you are a music creator, chances are that you are already familiar with several. You might have even come across options to buy Spotify plays since that is how popular the platform is. If you want to gain Spotify plays you can buy Spotify plays from some of the best sites available online.
Since options for music streaming are virtually endless, we have decided to compare the two major contenders, i.e., Apple Music and Spotify in this article. Let us dive in
1. Music Library
Before anything, the most important factor while considering which service to choose is the size of the music library offered. Recent statistics suggest that the Spotify Music Library contains more than 70 Million songs available for streaming across a hundred and seventy-eight markets. While some content is naturally region-restricted due to licensing terms and conditions, the number is still significant.
Simultaneously, Apple Music offers similar figures. The song library is almost the same, with more than seventy million songs available for streaming. However, Apple Music is slowly edging ahead since it has managed to sign several exclusive deals with creators from around the world.
Note that Spotify was falling behind with 50M+ songs in February. They have only recently caught on.
2. Pricing
There is not much competition here. Spotify is the clear winner here, with significantly lower prices and a more versatile range of options that span several scenarios. Firstly, it offers a free, ad-supported plan, the lack of which is infuriating in all Apple products.
Secondly, it offers more plans than Apple does. While the individual and family plans are priced the same at $9.99 and $14.99 per month on both platforms, Spotify has an additional Duo plan for couples, which is only priced at $12.99. Further, Spotify India offers a Mini plan for mobile devices only at INR 25 per week, which is an insane option for students residing in India.
Apple has always been about exorbitant rates and thus, Spotify wins in terms of pricing.
3. Local Music Integration
Apple Music handles your personal files better. But only if you have synced them using iTunes Match or purchased them in the iTunes Store. The best part is that these tracks are searchable and thus, you can browse them freely alongside Apple Music’s own library.
Spotify also has a separate tab for your local music files. However, you cannot play it alongside streaming tracks, and they are also not searchable. Thus, Apple Music integrates better with your music library.
Note that there is no clear winner in this regard since Apple Music does not handle local files but integrates well with iTunes files.
4. Music Discovery
Both contenders here are software giants. While Apple is significantly better in terms of handling software and creating code, Spotify has more experience handling music. This gives it the edge. Options like Daily Mixes, Discover Weekly, Collaborative Playlists, etc. give it the edge.
Apple Music also provides stellar recommendations and even provides a 24-hour live radio for the human touch. There is a Replay option that allows you to discover tracks you previously loved but might have lost track of with time.
In a nutshell, a complete review of the recommendations is impossible. However, it is safe to say that Spotify has better and more fantastic recommendations that always get you impressive tracks you are bound to love and unlikely to have heard before.
5. Offline downloads
You can never download songs for free from a streaming service. However, Apple Music handless offline downloads better since it allows you to store as many as 100,000 tracks locally. Unless you download every single album that you visit, it is hard to imagine ever reaching that number.
Spotify technically has a lower limit at 10,000 songs. But I can’t imagine any scenario in which I reach that number. Even music lovers and audiophiles do not keep that many tracks. However, in terms of numbers alone, Apple Music wins this round.
Bonus: User interface
Apple has always been famous for its UI, but somehow, Apple Music lags behind in this regard. Their Android and iOS apps are vastly different, which makes the experience feel disconnected. And there is no web player, and neither is there any sort of support for Windows systems. Those who are using Microsoft’s famous OS will be stuck with an antiquated iTunes app instead of Apple Music. Spotify has a unified experience that is clever and clutter-free. Plus, it has a web player, a native desktop player as well. Thus, it wins by leaps and bounds.ces now. If you are a music creator, chances are that you are already familiar with several. You might have even come across options to buy Spotify plays since that is how popular the platform is.
Conclusion
Spotify is the clear winner when it comes to music streaming services. While there are several other factors to consider apart from what we mentioned, it still reigns supreme. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
