Apple Music is finally live, but can it really dominate all the other music streaming services that have already established themselves in the market? At the moment, there are several music streaming service providers that consumers are already familiar with, one of which is Spotify. So how will the Cupertino-based service match against the popular paid premium subscription service?
Just like Spotify, Apple Music also has a $9.99 monthly subscription fee after its three-month trial period. While consumers are likely to choose one over the other, it would be wiser to first find out which one is worth the monthly fees.
Here is a detailed comparison between the two music streaming service brands:
Features
The subscription plan for Apple Music comes with access to Apple's Beats 1 Radio station curated by professional DJs from New York, Los Angeles, and London all day and all night. It also has the exclusive Connect artist-based social networking feature, which allows music fans to follow their favorite recording stars. The artists can share several special contents with their fans through this service.
On the other hand, Spotify has no radio station but subscribers can instantly play different tracks from the 20 million songs under the service provider's library without having to download the song's digital file. They can also create playlists, share music to their friends via Facebook, and get music from third-party resources.
Audio Quality
Currently, Apple Music is limited to 256 kbps. This makes the sound quality of Spotify Premium better because of its 320 kbps capacity. But since Apple Music supports AAC, the 256 kbps quality is enough to provide clear, crisp sounds.
Music Suggestion Tools
Apple Music comes with the "For You" music discover feature which can recommend songs based on the genre and artists that the users picked when registering with the music service provider. Users are asked to tap once on the name of the artists that they like and twice if they love a particular artist. From there, the tool will come up recommended songs to play on their device.
On the other hand, Spotify has the "Discover" tool that offer names of individual songs, artists, and albums based on their listening background. While the tool does not have a playlist where the subscribers can choose a song based on the suggested tracks, it can still provide a pretty decent set that music fans would enjoy.
Plan subscriptions
Apple Music offers a Family plan subscription wherein up to six people can enroll for just $15 per month. Spotify does not have a group subscription package, but they offer $5 discount per person added in a principal account and a student discount rate worth $5.
At the moment, it is hard to determine which of the two will emerge on top of the highly profitable music streaming service industry. Both Apple Music and Spotify have their advantages and disadvantages, but those who are already enjoying the former's free three-month plan should take advantage of the offer while it lasts.
