Spotify also changes the player UI based on album color, but once again, the presentation and overall feel is better than YouTube Music. Discover Songs Discovering new music is as important as the. Apple Music and Spotify are the two biggest names in music streaming. But with similar catalogs and the same monthly subscription fee ($9.99, £9.99 or AU$11.99) it can be tough to work out which.
Other than being an avid techie, one other thing that defines me is Music. Iâm an absolute audiophile. Many like to make fun of the fact that my phone is home more than 2000 songs.
While having all these songs on-tap is nice, the future is in Streaming and as such, Iâm also big on music streaming. I have tried almost everything out there. For a long time, Spotify has been my go-to music streaming platform. But it is not officially supported in this part of the planet so I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to enjoy my favorite tunes but for a music junkie like me, itâs almost always been worth it.
But all that is changing. I am ditching Spotify for itâs closest competitor, well, if weâre excluding Apple Music of course, Deezer.
I wish I had a whole list of gripes that inspired my move but I donât. These are just my personal experiences. Also, for the most part, these two music streaming Giants are comparable.
Convenience for paying for monthly subscription
I know itâs probably not wise to admit this here but, I havenât paid for Spotify. Not once. Iâve always been using these modded apps that mimic premium features, opening myself to security loopholes associated with these bootleg apps.
But I have been meaning to pay. I have tried to pay for Spotify for years. But since it isnât officially available in my region, they canât take my money, be it from my credit card or my PayPal.
Deezer on the other hand, is officially available in Kenya and many other regions. Download spotify for iphone outside us. Paying for Deezer is as simple as opening a PayPal account, linking it to M-PESA, transferring the required funds and thatâs it.
Deezer sounds so much better than Spotify on every earphone/ headphone
I know Iâm not alone here. One song, two different platforms and many people can tell which one sounds better. And it is almost always in favour of Deezer. And I have listened to streams from premium accounts so I know it is not the mediocre quality supported on Spotifyâs Free plan.
Local Playlists
I am not very big on local music. But safe to say, I have never searched for a Kenyan/ Tanzanian or any African pop song and missed it on Deezer. The same canât be said for Spotify, although to be fair, the delta here is rather small as Spotify has almost any song you can think of.
Flow is just as good, if not better than Spotifyâs Discover
One thing we can all agree upon, Spotifyâs Discover Weekly is insanely good at getting you new songs you would have otherwise never known, but then they end up being you favorite songs. Deezerâs Flow feature is also really really good at doing the same thing.
Deezerâs new UI looks sleek
See, Spotify is kinda like Poweramp back in the day. Release after release, the layout remained virtually the same. While this is good for consistency and ease of use, you know, if itâs ainât broke, donât fix it; it gets boring really really quickly.
Deezerâs app for mobile used to beâ¦.ugly to say the least. But a few months ago, Deezer rebranded their app, complete with a new icon, a fresh coat of paint and the app looks good.
Google Assistant is supported on Deezer as well.
Spotify is a huge platform on Mobile. And as such, Google Assistant is fully supported. You can even set it as your default music player and as such, you can simply say âOkay Google, Play Sarah Bareillesâ and just like that, youâre jamming to heartbreak songs.
I am not sure whether this has been available on Deezer for a while but it is available. You can simply say âOkay Google, Play Sara Bareilles on Deezerâ and youâre in business. Although I have to say, I have had Google Assistant drop the ball on Deezer a lot more than it does on Spotify. But you quickly learn to tell it how to play your music.
Deezer has a deep interaction with Shazam and SoundHound
One of the conviniences I love as a techsavvy audiophile, it is the ability to Shazam or use SoundHound to identify any song I hear. Be it in restaurants, in movies, even while commuting.
Simply Shazam a song, tap the three dots and open on Deezer. Add that to an album and later on I can simply kick back and jam to all these songs I have identified through the day.
It is such a simple thing that can easily be overlooked and Spotify just doesnât do this well. Maybe it is because of the beef between Apple Music and Spotify now that Apple owns Shazam, or the fact that I canât purchase premium on Spotify but I have switched camps.
I ran a poll on Twitter and obviously, most of you guys chose Spotify as your go-to. But it is 2019 and these âunderdogsâ have come a long way. If thereâs ever a time to try out the alternative, this is a good time as any.
UPDATEDeezerâs SongCatcher
While Deezer still plays nice with apps like Shazam and SoundHound, it also runs its own Song-identification service, SongCatcher. The service which is powered by ACRCloud, is now available for all iOS and Android mobile users across the world from within the Deezer app, irrespective of whether the account is Free or Premium.
Since the service is built into the app itself, it now allows for things like the ability to add newly identified tracks to your favorites and/or playlists within Deezer and for Premium users, the ability to immediately play saved and favorite tracks from SongCatcher
Related
If you're an early Spotify user, you may be looking for a new, free music-streaming service as Spotify's six months of free listening comes to an end.
Trendsetting music lovers who signed up for Spotify when it first hit the U.S. on July 14, 2011 will soon encounter roadblocks. For instance, come the six-month deadline to switch to Spotify Unlimited ($4.99 per month) or Spotify Premium ($9.99 per month), Spotify users will only be able to play their favorite songs a maximum of five times, and free streaming will cap at 10 hours per month.
It's no doubt the unlimited access to a huge library of music â about 15 million tracks â is one of the features that loyal Spotify users love.
Other features include the ability to make playlists of favorite songs (up to 10,000 tracks per list) and social integration to Facebook. Songs you play automatically display on your Facebook Timeline and desktop sidebar. Plus, access content via share buttons and a convenient search bar. With Spotify Premium, users enjoy an offline mode, which means they can listen to playlists on the plane, train or beach. Finally, radio stations specifically tailor to a user's specific artist or genre preferences.
As fun and convenient as Spotify is, for many, the honeymoon phase is over with the service's free music cutoff. Here are five free music-streaming websites and applications that act as alternatives to Spotify.
1. Grooveshark
Grooveshark is a comparable service that provides free on-demand music streaming with ads. Over 30 million people use Grooveshark globally.
How it compares to Spotify: Comparable features include the option to share songs or playlists with friends on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and other social networking platforms. Like Spotify, Grooveshark offers a downloadable desktop application. Other capabilities include radio-streaming and uploading your own music. Grooveshark also offers song and artist suggestions related to your listening habits.
Differences: Since anyone can upload music to Grooveshark, audio quality of tracks may vary. With Grooveshark, there is no monthly limit for free accounts, as opposed to the 10-hour cap soon to occur on Spotify. However, ads play on both systems.
Size of Music Library: Over 7 Million Songs
Paid Options: Grooveshark-Plus ($6 per month) provides unlimited, ad-free listening. New application Grooveshark-Anywhere offers to-go music streaming at $9 per month.
Mobile Availability: Free radio streaming or on-demand access to music with paid subscription for Android, Nokia, Palm, Blackberry and 'jailbroken iPhones,' as listed on Grooveshark's website.
2. PandoraFree Online Music Streaming Spotify
Pandora's desktop and mobile free radio-style music-streaming service provides tailored sets of tunes based on the artist or track you input.
How it compares to Spotify: Pandora allows users to easily listen without having to search for tracks or create a playlist. 'The Music Genome Project' behind Pandora generates music related to your search terms. The radio will tweak itself according to your thumbs-up or thumbs-down ratings. However, there are limits to songs skipped per hour. Pandora's social sharing capabilities are pretty weak compared to Spotify's wide range of Facebook, Twitter and Messenger capabilities.
Differences: Spotify is clearly better if you want a wide selection of on-demand music streaming. Pandora Internet radio plays from a smaller collection of 700,000 songs, compared to Spotify's 15 million-song vault.
Size of Music Library: 700,000 tracks
Paid Options: Pandora One ($36 per year) comes with unlimited music play, higher-quality audio, unlimited song skips and no advertisements.
Mobile Availability: Free radio streaming and premium listening via Pandora One options are available on Android 1.6 and later, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPod touch and Palm Pre devices.
3. Rdio
Rdio is a desktop music streaming application that allows new users in the U.S. to access ad-free, on-demand music streaming for an undisclosed amount of time a month. From the co-creators of Skype, Rdio began to offer Rdio Free with a set amount of ad-free, free on-demand music with its Facebook integration in October 2011.
Is there an alarm app that works with spotify. How it compares to Spotify: Both non-paying users of Rdio and Spotify can play music on-demand, share their playlists and favorite songs on numerous social networking websites, receive music recommendations and listen to artist-tailored radio stations. We like how Rdio and Spotify allow free users to browse and listen to top tracks lists, albums and new releases.
Differences: Rdio Free comes ad-free and on-demand, whereas Spotify plays ads in between song sets. The company will not disclose how much time is free for users who opt out of the premium service. Rdio states, 'Weâd rather do it this way than bombard people with adsâ¦When you run out of free music in any given month, you can choose to upgrade to any of Rdioâs existing pricing plans or start free anew the following month.'
Size of Music Library: 12 million songs
Paid Options: Rdio Web ($4.99 per month) offers unlimited web streaming from browser or desktop platforms. Rdio Unlimited ($9.99 a month) offers unlimited web streaming plus unlimited mobile streaming. Unlimited Family ($17.99) offers two unlimited web and phone subscriptions.
Mobile Availability: Available on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android 1.6 or higher, Windows Phone 7 devices and Blackberry phones.
4. MOG FreePlay
MOG FreePlay is the free version of its original subscription-required application.
How it compares to Spotify: Like Spotify, MOG FreePlay offers free music streaming with ads. However, for 60 days, new users can listen to MOG FreePlay without ads. Similar to Spotify, MOG FreePlay logs users in through Facebook and shares music with friends. The service provides recommendations based on bands and artists you have Liked on Facebook. Both players have options to create playlists, favorite songs and much more.
Differences: MOG FreePlay also offers an undisclosed amount of play, like Rdio; however, this platform gives you a chance to earn more free music every month by earning points for inviting friends to join MOG.
Size of Music Library: 13 million songs
Play Spotify Free
Paid Options: Paid options for unlimited music include a MOG Basic plan ($4.99 per month), which comes with unlimited, on-demand music for your computer, sans mobile access. The MOG Primo plan for $9.99 per month comes with computer and mobile access and unlimited streaming to your phone.
Mobile Availability: Only available through Primo plan to iPhone, iPod Touch and Android phones.
5. YouTube
While YouTube is a video player, we recommend using YouTube for free, on-demand music streaming if you love listening to songs on-demand. You can use YouTube Disco to find songs by artist. A search for Beyonce turned up 100 videos, mostly from her official VEVO site.
How it compares to Spotify: Create playlists of your favorite songs for listening at work or play. You can also easily share YouTube videos on various social networking platforms.
Differences: Listening to music on-demand on YouTube may be more work â you will have to search for songs to listen to them. However, access plenty of playlists others have pre-packaged.
Free Music Streaming Better Than Spotify Playlist
Mobile Availability: YouTube's pre-installed application works on Android and iOS devices. Downloads are also available on Windows Phones. Web-based versions are available for most smartphones.
What music streaming applications or services do you use? How do they compare with Spotify? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Is The Spotify App Free
Image courtesy of Flickr, Andreas Blixt
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