Streaming services...

BeardyAndy

Apologies if this has already been covered but I’m thinking about trying out one of the music streaming services like Spotify or Apple music.
As I’m sure plenty of you have an opinion as to the “best” one I’d appreciate the input.
Im an Apple user but only with mobile devices, if I can avoid turning a PC on at home I will so nothing solely desktop based (if that’s even an issue nowadays.)
ive has the free trial with Deezer and Apple. Deezer seemed very expensive but I’ve not yet looked into the prices of the others to judge it by.

Tone71

Spotify does all I want, I like the way it goes off when you've finished listening and plays similar, have discovered loads of new music through it.

I pay £15 a month and all the family use it, it is superb.

darthed1981

Spotify is the market leader in terms of functionality and clever playlists.  Don't buy through the appstore though, as they whack three quid on you don't need to pay.

Apple Music, Amazon and Google Play all offer similar libraries at almost identical prices.

All offer superb introductory deals on and off, so you can get 3 months for 99p say, if you choose your time.

Once you choose one, you will start building playlists and the system will learn your preferences, so you will be loathe to switch, bear than in mind.

Almost all of them are £9.99 for a single user, or £14.99 for upto six in the same household.  I use that one and have seperate accounts for the wife and kids so they don't mess up mine.

Enjoy, it is a fantastic way to listen to music.

A note on quality before someone chimes in, they are all transparent to basically everyone at premium bit rates,  Spotify uses OGG Vorbis at 320kbps, and Apple Music uses I believe AAC VBR at 256kbps - both are superb.

Tidal's "hi res" streaming is total, pure, snake oil.  The extra frequencies would be a challenge for your dog to hear, and the extra dynamic range is not reproducible outside a lab.  It's total bunk.

BeardyAndy

darthed1981 said:

Spotify is the market leader in terms of functionality and clever playlists.  Don't buy through the appstore though, as they whack three quid on you don't need to pay.

Apple Music, Amazon and Google Play all offer similar libraries at almost identical prices.

All offer superb introductory deals on and off, so you can get 3 months for 99p say, if you choose your time.

Once you choose one, you will start building playlists and the system will learn your preferences, so you will be loathe to switch, bear than in mind.

Almost all of them are £9.99 for a single user, or £14.99 for upto six in the same household.  I use that one and have seperate accounts for the wife and kids so they don't mess up mine.

Enjoy, it is a fantastic way to listen to music.

A note on quality before someone chimes in, they are all transparent to basically everyone at premium bit rates,  Spotify uses OGG Vorbis at 320kbps, and Apple Music uses I believe AAC VBR at 256kbps - both are superb.

Tidal's "hi res" streaming is total, pure, snake oil.  The extra frequencies would be a challenge for your dog to hear, and the extra dynamic range is not reproducible outside a lab.  It's total bunk.

thanks, a lot of useful stuff there. I’ll have a look tonight but the family package is probably what I’ll end up with. 

£15pcm sounds a lot but it’s only like buying 2 albums on iTunes and if you buy a bad one your stuck with it!

Grumpyrocker

I have Google Play Music family subscription. Works best for our devices at home. Did at one point consider going to Spotify but has some annoyances regarding family subs that means it's not ideal.

Fretwired

I had Apple and Spotify at the same time for a few moneths to compare and I opted for Spotify. Apple requires iTunes which has some major drawbacks as a streaming platform. Spotify's interface and software is superior and they have more tracks than Apple.

Lebarque

Spotify

BeardyAndy

Thanks guys, I’ve signed up for Spotify family. The wife seemed pleased #happywifehappylife  

darthed1981

BeardyAndy said:

£15pcm sounds a lot but it’s only like buying 2 albums on iTunes and if you buy a bad one your stuck with it!

The best thing about it is someone says

"Hey Ed, you heard that new track by so-and-so - I think you'd love it!"

Then you search and you are there...

It's almost ALL the world's music for a tenner a month, or fifteen quid if you want six accounts, tis a bargain, IMHO.

When I'm a poor retiree, all I'll need is Spotify and Netflix and the odd pint.

duotone

If you have Amazon Prime, Amazon Music should cost £8 per month after any free trials/special introductory offers.

andyp

I'm an Apple Music user but have had Spotify too, both are excellent. I just found Apple easy to use and I like having my music all in the one app - my purchased stuff is in there too, and anything I've copied over from my CD collection via the laptop.

You won't regret it, it's easily the best value £15 a month you can spend if you like music. I use mine every day and would be lost without it now. Mrs. P and our older son both use it too, it's brilliant.

RobDavies

I love Spotify but there are certain tracks/albums/artists that seem to have some poor file conversion thing going on. 

I started a recent discussion on this forum regarding Metallica's Garage Days album, and have recently discovered the same issues with the first Danzig record, too. 

In fairness, the faults are also on the Tidal versions as well. So it's not just a Spotify issue. 

BeardyAndy

andyp said:

I'm an Apple Music user but have had Spotify too, both are excellent. I just found Apple easy to use and I like having my music all in the one app - my purchased stuff is in there too, and anything I've copied over from my CD collection via the laptop.

You won't regret it, it's easily the best value £15 a month you can spend if you like music. I use mine every day and would be lost without it now. Mrs. P and our older son both use it too, it's brilliant.

Interesting. I do begrudge all the moneys worth of songs on itunes just sitting there!

I think i'll give Spotify a month or 2 and then give Apple music a go to compare.

andyp

It works for me doing the Apple Music thing anyway, having to swap between apps for music I own and music I was streaming was a faff, having it all in one makes it totally seamless. I still buy the odd CD, but hardly any now. I think I only bought half a dozen last year.

I think there are more shared playlists etc. on Spotify, but when it came to the interface and the sound quality etc. there wasn't a lot in it for me, so having it all in the single app was the clincher.

pintspiller

I think I got Amazon Music for £3.99/month for one Echo device recently. Actually it wasn't me. The grandchildren asked Alexa for it. Luckily remembered to cancel just before the end of my free month!

EricTheWeary

Interesting that Spotify are heavily investing in podcasts and radio now. I’m presuming that will be all in with the subscription at some point.