What’s REALLY the best music streaming service for you?

When it comes to music streaming services, people are quite passionate. Most tend to pick one and devote their life to it without giving much thought to the other options. But as music streaming services continue to evolve, you have to wonder, am I missing out on anything?  

Whether you’re about to take the leap and sign up to a service, or just want to know if you’ve made the right choice, we’ve got the lowdown for you. Here’s everything you need to know to decide what the best music streaming service is for you. 

Spotify

When most people think of streaming music, Spotify is usually the first to come to mind. They have dominated the streaming scene for a long time, and for good reason. Here are some of the standout features:  

Top notch recommendations 

Spotify are known for having an epic recommendation algorithm. The more you listen, the more you’ll discover – whether it’s new artists, songs, or podcasts related to your interests (link to podcast article). Between the ‘More of what you like’ section and the personalised ‘Discover Weekly’ playlists that are generated and updated based on your recent activity, you’ll never run out of things to listen to. 

2 accounts for the price of 1

While most services offer both standard and family subscriptions, Spotify are unique in having something that sits in between. Premium Duo allows (you guessed it) two people to share one Spotify plan, whilst keeping their own individual accounts and logins. It’s great for couples or friends who live together as it’s cheaper than buying two separate accounts (comes to just under £6.50 each).  

Spotify is for the socialites

Spotify are nailing the social aspect of music streaming right now. They make it very easy to collaborate on playlists with your friends and share your favourite tunes around. You can also see what your friends are listening to live. 

Be in the know

You can follow your favourite artists and be alerted to when they release new music or announce an upcoming show.  

The best free music streaming service

If you’re not looking to pay for your music, then Spotify offer one of the best free music streaming services. You can access all playlists including the personalised ‘Discover Weekly’ one, but only while in Shuffle Play mode and with a limited number of skips. You also won’t be able to save and listen to music offline and will experience interruptions from ads. Despite this, most services only have free trials rather than free plans, so it is a good long-term option for those who can’t face a monthly fee.  

Apple Music

Apple Music has become Spotify’s worthy opponent. While some say the platform design and recommendations lack the sophistication of Spotify’s, they both boast around 50 million songs and cost the same amount. So, what does Apple Music bring to the table? 

Exclusive content

One of the things Apple music has over its competitors is exclusivity. Thanks to Apple Music 1 – a 24/7 radio station – users have exclusive access to new releases, artist interviews, and round the clock playlists and live DJs. It’s a great way for fans to connect with their favourite artists as well as each other. 

Jump between playlists and radio stations

Not only does Apple Music have its own 24/7 radio station with exclusive content, it keeps all the popular radio stations in one place for you to easily access. 

Video as well as audio

Apple Music are also exploring the visual side to music streaming more and more. This includes music videos, concert films, interviews and original programs such as Carpool Karaoke: The Series (an extended version of James Corden’s popular segment on The Late, Late Show), and there’s sure to be more on the horizon.  

iTunes 

For those who grew up with iTunes, you may be glad to hear that Apple Music allows you to combine the music you’ve bought in the past with the music you want to stream. So, all those iTunes gift cards didn’t go to waste after all. 

Got a lot of Apple devices?

If you’re an Apple fanatic in general, then you may benefit from the seamless syncing between Apple devices.  

Amazon Music Unlimited

While Amazon has a number of music services that vary in price and offering (including Amazon Music Free and Amazon Prime Music), Amazon Music Unlimited is the closest to Spotify and Apple Music, but with a few differences: 

More songs

Amazon Music Unlimited currently claims to be the music streaming service with the most music, giving you access to over 70 million songs (that’s 20 million more than Apple and Spotify).  

Amazon Prime benefits 

If you’re a member of Prime, you can subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited at the lower price of £7.99, making it the cheapest music streaming service. 

Perfect if you have an Alexa

If you have an Alexa in your home, you can enjoy a seamless music streaming experience. And no, it’s not just simply asking for a song to be played. Alexa is also able to play music based on a requested mood, certain times of the day and she can even find a song by hearing just a few of the lyrics. 

One for the karaoke fans 

When you stream songs with Amazon Music Unlimited, the lyrics will automatically pop up on screen. Not a major breakthrough, but if you hate getting caught singing the wrong lyrics, this may be your solution. 

YouTube Music

After replacing Google Play Music, YouTube Music is relatively new to the streaming game. It still has a way to go to be competing with the top dogs up there, but it does have some features which may tempt you. 

Free version

If you’re thinking of giving YouTube Music a go, it does have a free, ad-supported version you can try out. And if you like what you see then you can pay £9.99 for YouTube Music premium to remove ads, unlock offline listening and the ability to listen while the mobile app runs in the background.  

Already interested in YouTube Premium? 

If you’re always on YouTube and are already thinking of signing up for the ad-free YouTube Premium, you can get YouTube Music thrown in for free. 

Lots of video

While most music streaming services only have official music videos and content from the artist themselves, YouTube Music gives you the option to view videos related to your song search such as live performances, covers and karaoke versions. So, if you like fully immersing yourself in all aspects of music, then YouTube Music could be the best music streaming service for you. 

Personalised experiences

Because of its link to Google’s data, YouTube Music uses all that info to create customised experiences. For example, the platform can detect the weather, time of day and location, and can then show you appropriate playlists. So, if it’s a sunny day, get ready to see some ‘Good Vibes’ playlists pop up. 

Search by lyrics

While YouTube Music doesn’t display lyrics as the songs play, you do have the option to view them alongside selected songs. However, perhaps even better, you’re able to search for songs just by typing out the lyrics. Super handy for when you just can’t remember the name. 

As you can see, every music streaming service has got their own thing going on and it really comes down to what features you prefer. So, have you decided which music streaming service is best for you? 

Stream music without interruptions

When you pay for a music streaming service, the last thing you want is slow downloads and dropouts. Make the most of your music streaming with our hyperfast broadband speeds. 

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