Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify are the three most popular music services in the twenty-first century. They are more than just music streaming platforms; they are entertainment titans, names to be reckoned with in today’s world of music entertainment.
Even though these music industry titans have one thing in common,’ music,’ the variety of music and how it’s presented reveal a lot about which of them stands tall amongst the others. They are features that users look for when selecting a music streaming platform.
In this article, we’ll be exploring for these platforms to see which one is a better option for users.
A Little Bit On Apple Music
In the fall of 2019, Apple. inc announced the discontinuation of iTunes, a nearly two-decade-old product line. This was to birth the beginning of a new era of music entertainment with better content integration and user experience.
Apple Music had over 90 million tracks in its library as of June 2022, and the number is growing by the day.
Amazon Music Overview
In 1998 Amazon started selling CDs this was the first step the company ever took regarding becoming a music platform. Next, In September of 2007, Amazon launched what is now known as Amazon Music, which was originally an MP3 store.
Packed with potential, it became the first store to sell music without digital rights management in January 2008. (DRM). They launched their cloud player in March of 2011, heralding the dawn of the era of online music streaming.
Although it’s not yet available in every country, Amazon Music has grown to become one of the largest music platforms. With over 75 million tracks in its library, it’s become a force to be reckoned with.
Things You Might Not Know About Spotify
Spotify music came about in 2006 as the Brainchild of Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in Stockholm. According to history, the name was derived from a name shouted by Lorentzon, and they later devised a portmanteau of “spot” and “identity.”
Spotify has the most paid subscribers of any online streaming platform, with over 400 million active users monthly and over 150 million of them subscribing to a plan. They have over 82 million tracks of music and other items in their catalog, which is constantly growing.
Apple Music vs Spotify vs Amazon Music: Free Plan
While these platforms all have a free plan, the dynamics on each platform are different.
Apple Music
Apple Music provides a free trial on the platform for users to test their service before deciding whether or not to purchase a plan.
There is no free plan on Apple Music per se. However, during the trial period, you will have access to all of the features of the paid plan.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music began as a paid online streaming service in 2011 when it launched its cloud player, and it remained so for 8 years until 2019 when it launched its free ad-supported streaming service.
The standard features of this service include:
- Ad-supported streaming.
- No Auto playback.
- Songs are selected through a shuffle sequence, you can’t select a song of your choice, you must go through a playlist.
- You only get 6 skips hourly
- No offline downloads
- Audio quality of up to 320kbps
- Access to just a few thousand stations and top playlist, not the entire library.
Spotify
The free plan on Spotify can be said to have similar to that of Amazon Music.
- Ad-supported streaming
- No Auto playback
- Songs are selected through a shuffle sequence, users can’t play a particular song of choice. They can only select a station where it is most likely to be played.
- You only get to skip 6 songs per hour
- No offline downloads
- Audio quality of up to 256kbps
- Access to the entire library.
We can’t really complain about what’s on offer here because you didn’t pay for it. Spotify’s ability to provide access to the entire content library gives it an advantage over Amazon Music in this category.
Paid Plans
Each of these platforms provides more than one plan, to provide people with a more flexible plan.
Amazon
Amazon Music Unlimited is a subcategory of Amazon Music that includes 75 million songs and thousands upon thousands of expert-programmed playlists and stations. You can listen to it any day, anytime, and anywhere you have an internet connection.
Two plans offer this service;
- The Family Plan supports up to 6 devices and it goes for $14.99 a month,
- The individual plan or single device plan. This supports one device and goes for $3.99 a month.
Amazon Prime members get a free slice of the cake. This includes over 2 million songs and just over a thousand playlists and stations.
Apple Music
The plan offered on this platform includes;
- the individual plan cost $9.99\month; it’s a single-user (device) plan.
- The $14.99 family plan, allows you to connect up to five devices.
- And the $5.99 student plan.
Spotify
Spotify Music has a similar set of plans, but with better deal inclusion.
let’s take a look at the plans,
- Individual plans start at $9.99 per month and include on-demand playback, offline streaming, ad-free streaming, and unlimited skips.
- Then there’s the Duo plan. This includes access for two people with other premium features and costs $12.99 per month.
- Next is the family plan which permits up to 6 devices.
- For $5.99, you get all of the premium plan’s features plus access to an ad-supported version of two video streaming services, Hulu and SHOWTIME.
ALSO READ: Hulu vs Netflix: What’s the Best Streaming Service?
As of June 2022, 185 million people choose to pay for a monthly subscription plan on Spotify, making it the highest subscription rate not only among the three being discussed but in the world.
Audio Quality
When talking about music, audio quality is only one of many factors to consider. Amazon has one of the best audio quality options available, with HD and Ultra HD features that allow you to stream at up to 850kbps, which is simply mind-boggling.
With a streaming quality of only 320kbps, Spotify is the least impressive in this category.
Apple Music outperforms every other platform in this category, thanks to its newly integrated lossless music, which can be streamed at either 16bits/44.1khz (705.6 kbps) or 24bits/192khz (4,608 kbps).
Content Variety
All platforms provide a wide range of content, ranging from live radio to podcasts to both original and curated playlists. It all comes down to which platform hosts your favorite content.
However, Spotify went above and beyond by partnering with Billboard to create playlists like Billboard Weekly and Billboard 100. This provides you with continuous access to top hits from around the world.
Conclusion: Apple Music vs Spotify vs Amazon Music
In the world of music, I believe these platforms are unrivaled. It’s genuinely difficult to pick a winner because they all have their upsides.
While Spotify has the best free plan, Amazon has the best individual price at $3.99 per month, Spotify has the best student plan, and Apple Music has the best audio quality.
Related: Spotify vs YouTube Music: The Clash of Streaming Titans
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