It’s been said, “Music is the nutrient for the soul”. That’s not something completely logical, but it makes sense as you think about it. I love music, and for good reasons. It helps me diverge my attention from the stresses of my daily routine and makes me feel relaxed. And that’s not just me, everyone has their unique reasons for listening to music on a regular basis.
With that being said, having a reliable music streaming service is a must-have for me, you, and everyone out there who’s fond of music. The two biggest names in the music streaming industry are Spotify and YouTube Music.
Spotify:
Spotify has been the big player in the music streaming game for quite a long time now. It’s a Swedish music streaming service that has been around since October of 2008.
YouTube Music:
YouTube Music, released in November of 2015, is relatively new to the market. But, don’t forget the fact that YouTube Music is backed and owned by Google, one of the biggest tech giants on the globe. With the data about your preferences and tastes which Google has, its music suggestion algorithms are indeed, very strong.
Choosing the best music streaming service between these two is a hot topic on the internet. But, let me break it down and make it simple for you to choose one of them for yourself.
Free plan limitations:
Both the services come with their free versions, but both are quite different in what they offer for free. In the free subscription of Spotify, you cannot search for songs and can only play them from personalized playlists like Daily Mix. You can only play the songs in shuffle mode, which is very annoying, to be honest. You can skip the songs you don’t like, but you can only do it 6 times per hour. You cannot download the songs for offline listening, and the music quality is limited as well. There are some ads here and there that interrupt your listening experience.
YouTube Music, on the contrary, lets you search and play any song you’d like. You can skip songs as much as you’d like. That makes YouTube Music feel like a clear winner, right? Hold on, let me keep going. As soon as you lock your phone while the music is playing on YouTube Music, it’s paused. Yes, you can’t listen to music when your phone is locked. Moreover, the music is paused as soon as you close or minimize the app. The music quality is limited, and you can’t download music for offline listening.
There’s no clear winner in this regard, but it totally depends on your personal preference.
Content:
Both the services come with their own pros and cons in terms of content. In terms of audio songs, both are quite similar. Both of them grant access to tens of millions of songs. However, one of the selling points for Spotify is the availability of podcasts. Spotify has a huge selection of podcasts for you to listen to.
YouTube Music, on the other hand, has music videos. You can easily switch between the audio and video versions of a song with just a tap.
If you’re someone who’s into podcasts, Spotify could the way for you to go. On the contrary, YouTube Music could be the ideal choice for people who watch lots of music videos.
Conclusion:
The winner between the two clearly depends on one’s preferences and choices. Spotify has the reputation of having a greater music discovery service. So, if you’re into discovering new music on a regular basis, you can’t go wrong with Spotify. Podcast availability is another reason for considering Spotify.
However, if you’re someone who’s deeply into music videos, YouTube Music is the obvious winner.