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Spotify, Apple, Deezer, and the other virtual streaming platforms or traditional radio stations?
Listen to fun music from your smartphone.
The complete guide
If you listen to music on YouTube, you have won. There are millions of amazing songs and playlists out there. Despite all this, YouTube has a significant disadvantage — the commercials between the songs. Sometimes the commercials you cannot be skipped, or those that can only be skipped after about 10 seconds.
If you are in the shower or unable to ignore it, the commercials can disturb the play sequence. On the other hand, you can always choose your preferred streaming platform, pay a few bucks a month and get access to a pool of millions to tens of millions of songs to listen to any time, anywhere without the commercials.
Come on — put on headphones — I’m starting.
Spotify
The Swedish music service Spotify was one of the first in the market and certainly gained the most popularity with more than 70 million subscribers worldwide.
Most of the virtual streaming platforms guarantee customization to your liking. Still, in Spotify, you will find an algorithm that combines music he knows you like accurately and new music you do not know — but you will surely love. Each song can be the starting point for a journey of acquaintance with excellent artists, and of course, if you know exactly what you want to hear, you will probably be able to find the song you are looking for from a variety of about 82 million tracks.
Another technological advantage of Spotify is the broad support of any means you can think of. The service is available through smartphones and computers, of course, but also through a game console (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One), most of the streamers on the market, smart TVs, smart speakers, and there is even a version designed for refrigerators (I laugh). You probably already have several devices in your home that can take advantage of your Spotify and even control the platform remotely in any way you choose.
Spotify is also experimenting with other types of content, such as podcasts and video programs, but these are a relatively minor part of the catalog. In general, it can be said that relative to some of the competitors, the Spotify app may look a bit cluttered and messy. In the community arena, too, the company has retreated somewhat. While songs can be shared relatively easily via a link or even a barcode for scanning, “tracking” friends will not usually provide you with better results.
How many songs appear on the platform? Over 82 million songs
Where can to listen: iPhone, Android, PC, smart speakers, and smart TVs?
Special Features: Smart, personalized playlists, sharing playlists and songs, podcasts and video programs, support for every device and platform possible, integration within Wise.
Sound quality: 320 kbit / s maximum.
Apple Music
Before launching a music streaming service about four years ago, Apple hesitated slightly. Of course, in the end, the company could no longer resist the future, and the result is a reasonably successful product. As always with Apple — it is intended primarily for customers who are willing to commit to its products and access and do not need support from other devices.
Apple’s catalog is very rich, with over 50 million songs. The company offers automatic playlist matching to find your way within this wealth of content. The lists themselves are made up of human editors, so in the end, their variety is limited, and the recommendations will be repeated after a short time. It seems that these lists usually go for the safe and familiar. If you want to discover new music, it would be better to find it on one of Apple’s radio stations, including Beats 1, which is a station in the classic sense of the word, with announcers and programs.
One notable advantage of Apple Music over the competition (though Apple, oddly enough, does not emphasize it at all in its publications) is free cloud storage for your existing music library. Once you connect to the service, it will scan your music files, automatically add those songs to the library, and songs that do not exist in Apple’s catalog will be uploaded to the web. This way, you will not have to jump between the Apple app and your private collection since everything is arranged in one place. In a large part of the content, you can browse the lyrics of the songs with one click and follow the artists in a kind of internal social network that will update you on new albums or performances.
The big downside is that Apple doesn’t like to share. Apple Music’s iPhone app is neat, pleasant, and relatively elegant. This one is meant for Android devices lagging. On the computer, you will have to use the monstrous iTunes, on the TV, you will have to purchase the Apple TV, and the smart HomePod speaker is the only one that allows listening to songs through Apple Music (and only through Apple Music — it does not connect independently to competing services).
How many songs appear on the platform? Over 50 million.
Where to listen: iPhone, Android, PC, Apple TV, HomePod
Special Features: Custom playlists, exclusive radio stations, exclusive albums, cloud storage of an existing music library, lyrics to songs, automatic sharing with friends.
Sound quality: 256 kbit / s maximum.
Deezer
The French Deezer combines human editing and community feel, like that of Apple Music, with more advanced Spotify-style technologies. If precise, Deezer tried to steal a bit of Spotify’s thunder, although they failed to keep up the pace. It can be said that they took a significant bite out of the virtual streaming services.
Deezer offers a permanent playlist feature called Flow, which should provide you with an uninterrupted stream of songs you love. He tries to study your preferences according to how you rate the recommendations and does a good job. Beyond that, the service offers pre-made playlists and promotions for new and popular albums.
Also on the list is Deezer’s technological advantages: a built-in Shazam-style song recognition service and support for ultra-high sound quality (FLAC), which may make Deezer a default choice for audiophiles who are not willing to settle for less. The app enjoys a clean and elegant design.
How many songs appear on the platform? — Over 55 million
Where can you hear? — iPhone, Android, computer, TV, and smart speakers
Special Features: Infinite custom playlist, song recognition, song lyrics.
Sound quality — 320 kbit / s in a standard premium package, option for FLAC 16 Bit 44.1Khz (Hifi) for an additional fee.
