Listening to music is a daily part of our routine, for most of us.
From turning on the radio during your morning commute to work or popping in a pair of headphones and listening to some sweet bedroom pop while you study.
Music streaming services have put millions of songs at our fingertips, ready to play whenever we want.
But when it comes to the best music streaming services, there are a few of them to choose from. They all offer different options including free versions, song previews, paid versions, higher-resolution songs, etc.
With everything they have to offer, it can be confusing to know which one is right for you. So, today we’ll discuss the top 7 best music streaming platforms in the world.
What are The Best Music Streaming Services?
1. Spotify
From the brand launch in 2008 to now with around 80 million tracks and an additional 4.7 million podcasts with 60,000 new tracks added every day, Spotify has grown to have a huge collection of music to listen to.
There’s a free version available although you’ll have to listen to a fair number of ads. The premium version costs just $9.99 and gives you the ability to listen to unlimited songs, uninterrupted, and even gives you the ability to download music and listen offline.
There are other notable features to using Spotify, such as:
- View the lyrics,
- Learn more about an artist
- Discover weekly playlist
- Personalized and collaborative playlists
All that being said, some big musicians have criticized Spotify, alleging the company doesn’t pay artists enough for making their work available for free.
A few artists have even removed some or all of their music from Spotify. Taylor Swift went 3 years boycotting Spotify before finally putting on catalog back on the music streaming platform in 2017.
2. Apple Music
Launched by Apple in 2015 and now with around 70 million tracks, there are plenty of tracks, thoughtfully curated playlists, and personalized recommendations to stream on Apple Music.
Apple Music does not have a free version. You can download tracks to listen offline in the paid one but you won’t be able to listen to podcasts, as it’s not available in the Apple Music app.
There’s no high-resolution streaming either. But it does have some great features including:
- A vast library of 100 million songs
- A variety of curated playlists created by music experts
- The ability to download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening
- Easy integration with other Apple products
- Exclusive content such as interviews with artists and behind-the-scenes footage
It’s available on both iOS and Android starting at $4.99 per month.
3. iHeartRadio
Founded in April 2008 and now with more than 30 million songs and 860 live radio stations, iHeartRadio is the best in curated playlists and radio stations. You can search, personalize, and customize your music needs very easily.
With being the largest radio broadcaster in the US, iHeartRadio also has a premium on-demand music service with millions of tracks. Although other services have a better on-demand selection, iHeartRadio’s radio selections are the best.
There’s the free version available, the $4.99 per month version for on-demand music, and the $9.99 version adds some extra features.
4. SoundCloud
Founded in 2007, SoundCloud doesn’t just allow the user to stream music, but also to share their own music. This means SoundCloud has a huge variety of music and songs you can’t find anywhere else.
With around 150 million mainstream and user-generated songs available, SoundCloud provides all of its basic functions like access to unlimited playlists and a few statistics for free. Though its “discover music” options are limited.
It has a maximum streaming quality of 256kbps and is available on iOS or Android for free with ads, or a premium, ad-free version called SoundCloud Go for $4.99/month or SoundCloud Go+ for $9.99/month.
5. YouTube Music
Launched in 2015 and now with around 80 million tracks, the YouTube Music app lets you turn on an “audio” only setting, so that users can listen to music in the background, which isn’t possible in the YouTube app itself.
YouTube music will play another song suggestion after your selected song stops, let you search by lyric, and download music in order to listen offline. But the songs are limited to the songs available on YouTube.
It has a maximum streaming quality of 256kbps and is available on iOS or Android for free with ads, in which if you quit the app the music will stop. You can also purchase the upgraded version for $9.99/month.
6. Deezer
Founded in 2007 in France, Deezer has around 73+ million tracks including 140,000 podcasts, a live radio feature, the Song Catcher feature that identifies songs playing around you, a feature to display lyrics on your TV, parental controls, and many others.
But, you’ll have to subscribe in order to enjoy full access, because the free version is filled with ads and you can only play 30-second previews of a few songs.
When you do subscribe, there are amazing features like the option to download music for offline listening or upgrade to CD-quality audio, etc. There’s no high-res streaming available because the maximum streaming quality is 1,411kbps.
7. Tidal
Launched in 2014 and now with around 90 million tracks and a high-res version called Tidal Masters, which lets you listen to songs in CD quality or better, Tidal is the ideal choice for users who want to listen to high-resolution songs.
It has an immense catalog, customized and curated playlists, music videos including exclusive releases but there’s no free version. You get a bunch of features like the download feature to listen to your favorite songs offline and the exclusive Prince’s catalog because it’s only available on Tidal.
With a maximum streaming quality of 9,216kbps, Tidal supports high-resolution streaming. It is available on iOS or Android for $9.99 a month, or $19.99 a month for Tidal Masters to listen to higher-quality sounds.
Final Thoughts
Music streaming services with millions of tracks and algorithms that suggest artists and playlists can help broaden your musical horizons. Millions of people stream music on these apps with millions of songs available at their fingertips.
You get access to all the songs the streaming services have to offer for typically under $10 a month.
With streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc, you can access a vast library of music, discover new artists, and create playlists that you can share with your friends and family.
These music streaming services make it easy to find the music you love, and often include some pretty nifty features.
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