Where you feel the beat: Which music platform fits you?

The recent controversy surrounding the Spotify exclusive podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, has left many re-evaluating where they put their money in streaming services.

Perhaps your commitment to combat the spread of what many define as misinformation has you considering leaving Spotify, the most popular streaming service. Or maybe you consider yourself a champion of freedom of expression and want to move to Spotify to support them in their stance on creator freedoms. Hey, maybe since everyone else is switching around, you want to try something new. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular streaming services.

Spotify

Spotify is well known for not only great music recommendations but also its growing podcast platform. Its easy-to-use interface makes it a great choice for those tired of trying to figure out how to use a new app. It works on most major platforms and is available on most smartphones, smart speakers and smart TVs. It has a slightly limited free version and a very functional premium tier.

However, Spotify has its limits. The service has been reluctant to share when it will release its promised HiFi tier, originally slated to launch last year. This means it’s not the best choice for audiophiles who want lossless streaming that other apps can provide. A lack of support for Dolby Atmos means that those who don’t already have it on their phone are further limited in this area.

Also, for anyone who is fully entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, Spotify is not supported on the Apple HomePod, likely because of their ongoing legal battles over payment processing.

Apple Music

Apple Music is a great choice for audiophiles since they recently announced support for lossless audio across their entire catalog. Many songs include Dolby Atmos. The app offers an impressive time-since lyric display along with an interface that will be familiar to most Apple users. While the app doesn’t offer podcasts, you can find them in another Apple app. Artist-hosted radio is also included.

Apple’s disadvantage is that their music recommendation algorithms tend to not work as well as Spotify’s. There is also no free tier. However, their family plan costs a dollar less per month than Spotify’s. Take note as well that there is no way to stream lossless audio over Bluetooth so if that’s the only way you listen to music, don’t make that a factor in your decision. Some devices, including Fire TV, also don’t support the service.

YouTube Music

YouTube Music is an offshoot of the popular social network site of the same name. Its audio quality is comparable to Spotify’s but it has a huge advantage over other streaming services—music videos. Because it is integrated with YouTube it has more music videos than most other platforms.

The free tier is much more functional than other services in allowing on-demand playback. This, however, comes at a price—YouTube is known for very intrusive advertising practices. Also, the free tier does not allow the screen to turn off, which can waste battery life and increase risks of pocket dialing. Therefore, the premium subscription is still recommended.

YouTube Music unfortunately can have issues with organization since it is still somewhat a social network. For example, when I used it previously, several releases from my favorite Christian artist were mixed in with an artist who frequently releases explicit numbers, negatively affecting my recommendations, which normally work rather well on this platform.

By Charles Metz