Spotify vs. Google Play Music vs Apple vs Tidal and the rest....

[editor]

Interesting comparison here.

• Both Google Play Music and Spotify have over 30 million songs available to their users to stream. Google Play Music offers links to music videos for millions of songs on YouTube. Spotify offers a handful of Spotify Original Video Series, which highlight local music, exclusive performances, and more. Both services have also expanded their podcast offerings in recent years, and Spotify can even help you find upcoming concerts in your area.
• Spotify only lets you rate music while listening to radio stations, not when listening to playlists or albums, so you cannot rate your library. Google Play Music lets you thumbs up and down music in every playlist, radio station, or in your library. Both services keep an automatic playlist of 'Thumbs Up' songs.
• Spotify doesn't let you upload your own music library, but you can add as many songs from the streaming catalog to your library as you'd like. Google Play Music lets you upload 50,000 songs to your Play Music library and stream them wherever for free. If you are a paid subscriber, Google Play Music lets you mix and match uploaded content and subscription songs.
• Spotify's automatic stations and suggested songs seem to be slightly more accurate in their predictions than Google Play Music's. Spotify also offers up Discover Weekly playlists to help you keep your music fresh.

Spotify is for shufflers and sharers that don't buy music and just want Spotify to serve up what's popular or stations based on their genres and artists of choice. It's great for users who just want a bit of music to fill their lives and tech fiends that switch devices too frequently for Google Play Music's device limit policy. The app's dark theme and easy layout are easier for casual listeners to browse. It's also good for students who need a cheap solo plan.

Google Play Music is good for families, users with well-established music libraries, and those with particular playlist tastes that they can satisfy between purchased, subscription, and uploaded music. Google Play Music's family plan doesn't have nearly the strings that Spotify's does, and is a better bargain.

Even if your family isn't big on Google Play Music, everyone can ditch the ads on YouTube, which is almost worth the subscription price by itself.

More here: Spotify vs. Google Play Music: Which should you subscribe to?

 

[mwgdrwg]

I've been very happy with Deezer for a long time, but just switched to Spotify because some obscure artists I like were on it. Deezer is better in some ways though, I like their interface more and may go back in future.

I tried Google Play music last month and hated it because I couldn't fast-forward when streaming, and the whole interface leaves me cold.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

After years of just downloading music I switched to Spotify and am a bit of a convert.

Oh and meth Badgers

 

[ruffneck23]

Very happy to pay for spotify, it also works with my djay app and pioneer controller, which apple music does not , also like the podcasts , currently making my way through

Roman Ranganesh' Hip hop saved my life

 

[mauvais]

You can upload your entire music library to Play Music and then listen to it from the cloud for free.

 

[bemused]

Here is my buying cycle for Spotify.

Day 0 - 'Dad can we have Spotify?' -- 'no'
Day 221 - 'Dad can we have Spotify?' - ' for fuck's sake, how do I sign you up?'

 

[mauvais]

With Spotify, you just need to find someone else who does pay for it, and then pretend you live with them.

One day they'll ask the bill payer why they have 187 different listeners in their household, but even then it'll be fine because they can just say they all live together in a cupboard under some stairs in a London HMO.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Glad you've started this ed, I've just ended my 6 months free Apple Music trial with EE (where they also covered the data for streaming during that period) so am now wondering what to do.

Liked Apple Music - whilst it was free anyway.
Is Amazon Unlimited the same but cheaper (for me as I have Prime so it is £7.99 a month)

I really don't like the Google Play app and find it a total arse to use.

I can fit more music than I need on the SD card in my phone so I may as well just download a load of stuff over wifi and play it rather than stream.

I have Spotify account and hardy use that.

Help - I need a Motorhead Shower Playlist again

 

[UnderOpenSky]

With Spotify, you just need to find someone else who does pay for it, and then pretend you live with them.

One day they'll ask the bill payer why they have 187 different listeners in their household, but even then it'll be fine because they can just say they all live together in a cupboard under some stairs in a London HMO.

It only plays on one device at a time though...

 

[TruXta]

YouTube

 

[mauvais]

It only plays on one device at a time though...

Nope. I don't know the ins and outs of it though, maybe they need a family subscription.

 

[kabbes]

Using Amazon Unlimited right now, because it’s the only thing that links Alexa to Sonos. I used to use Spotify and before that Apple Music. I’ve found all three of them to be functionally identical.

 

[bimble]

I've got a spotify subscription but I find it all a bit overwhelming, so much infinite choice at my fingertips that I listen to far less music now than i used to. I'm a bit useless like that though, like those salad / ice-cream shops in America where there are hundreds of options of every kind of sprinkle I can't cope and sometimes just walk out feeling foolish.

 

[editor]

It only plays on one device at a time though...

There's the rub!

 

[cybershot]

You can upload your entire music library to Play Music and then listen to it from the cloud for free.

This. Which is incredibly useful for essential mixes and mixes your mates have done without them clogging up space on your device.

I also use amazon music which isn’t an option in the poll.

 

[joustmaster]

I moved from spotify to google music about 5 years ago. And I'm glad I did. Its lots better.

I now pay a bit more for the family account so I can have 6 people playing different things, and have given accounts to family.

I have a google home in each room of the house all playing music.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Spotify, I've had a subscription for years now. Tried Apple music but just didn't get on with the interface.

 

[lazythursday]

Which one is better at recommendations? And which is better at letting you discover new releases? On Spotify the genres you can view new releases by are way too broad.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I moved from spotify to google music about 5 years ago. And I'm glad I did. Its lots better.

I now pay a bit more for the family account so I can have 6 people playing different things, and have given accounts to family.

I have a google home in each room of the house all playing music.

Google home plays nice with Spotify as well.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

After reading this article, I'm going to give the Dot more of a go and team it up with Spotify, Google Calendar and IFTTT

The 20 best Amazon Alexa skills and tips

 

[Winot]

I use Tidal. Bit more expensive (£20 a month) but CD quality and gives a bit more to artists afaik.

 

[skyscraper101]

Spotify, but I use Google Play to store all my music I have on my ipod classic and various albums not available on Spotify, so I use it as well. But the interface sucks and it more than often crashes.

I sometimes use Apple music, because there's a handful of tracks I've downloaded direct to the iphone so it just defaults to Apple music. But in general Spotify ftw.

 

[emanymton]

YouTube

Would be great if it carried on playing when you locked your phone and stuck it in your pocket.

 

[editor]

I use Tidal. Bit more expensive (£20 a month) but CD quality and gives a bit more to artists afaik.

Sucky company though

Jay-Z’s Shortsighted Spotify Purge Won’t Help Tidal–Or His Fans

Jay Z Is Fraudulently Inflating Tidal Numbers, Report Says

 

[joustmaster]

Would be great if it carried on playing when you locked your phone and stuck it in your pocket.

I think the paid version of youtube does that

 

[Throbbing Angel]

I think the paid version of youtube does that

thewhatnow?

 

[TruXta]

Would be great if it carried on playing when you locked your phone and stuck it in your pocket.

Oh, I never listen to music on my phone, so it's not an issue.

 

[Orang Utan]

I don't stream, as I listen to a lot of music whilst out and about. I use the Pulsar app, and Soulseek for album music and various podcasts for DJ mixes, which I listen to far more than individual tracks or albums.
I do use free Spotify on my laptop occasionally (such as when Mark E Smith died and I had a Fall blitz)

 

[Orang Utan]

Oh, I never listen to music on my phone, so it's not an issue.

I only listen to music on my phone. No longer any need for expensive hi fi equipment!

 

[TruXta]

I only listen to music on my phone. No longer any need for expensive hi fi equipment!

I use my laptop, usually at work. At home it's usually the radio or nothing.