Products like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod have changed the way we listen to our favorite music, with more accessibility and convenience. As music streaming continues to become one of the most popular ways to listen to today’s musicians and artists, several platforms are fighting for relevancy in our increasingly digital world.
Choosing the right music streaming service for you is entirely based on preference, though prices do vary. For example, Mac users will often side with Apple Music due to the familiarity and convenience. Others may be more inclined to try Spotify or Pandora. Regardless, the amount of music that will be at your fingertips is almost unfathomable. The following are some of the best music streaming platforms to take advantage of.
Prime Music
Amazon’s streaming platform, which is included with Amazon Prime, is just $10.99 a month, or $99.99 for the year, and gives you access to over 2 millions songs without ads. Additionally, you can listen offline or through your Amazon Echo. Prime comes with thousands of curated playlists and stations suited for specific genres and moods as well. Users can also upload songs from a persona library of theirs to the Amazon Cloud.
One of the few complaints Prime users have is the limited music selection. While 2 millions songs certainly sounds like a lot, it pales in comparison to many of the other popular streaming platforms.
Apple Music
As mentioned before, Apple users and general fans of this company will almost certainly enjoy Apple Music, which is just $9.99 per month, or $14.99 per month on their family plan, capable of having up to 6 people. It boasts over 40 million artists, songs, and podcasts, and is even available for Android devices you not have an iPhone or iOS device. Beats 1 is another perk that comes with Apple Music. This free, online radio station is handled by actual DJs.
This platform’s navigation tools is often met with criticism when comparing it to other streaming services. For users more comfortable with Spotify or Pandora, Apple Music’s search options may come with a bit of a learning curve.
Spotify
Arguably one of the most popular streaming platforms today, Spotify is a free streaming service, but without pay comes a barrage of ads in between every two or three songs. For just $9.99 a month, these ads will be removed. Spotify has over 30 million songs to choose from, and is a great way to create and share playlists with friends, or listen to live sessions from time to time.
Aside from the ads, a few other cons that come with Spotify are the limited mobile functionality, and the confusing process of uploading your own songs to a library or playlist.
Tidal
A streaming platform that has recently grown in popularity, Tidal is great for music lovers who want to hear the best possible quality music, and lots of it. For just $9.99 per month (or $19.99 per month for Hi-Res audio), users have access to over 46 million songs and just under 200,000 videos. It’s often seen as an awesome medium for rap and R&B artists as well.
That being said, a common complaint is the $20 monthly fee, which is steep compared to other platforms. The high quality can also slow down mobile devices due to its data usage.
In conclusion, if you are looking to change things up with your music streaming services, try any of the platforms mentioned above. You may be surprised with what you like.