Long gone are the days us 90s kids would have to find and use YouTube to MP3 converters or LimeWire to get our music fill.
Today, we have Apple Music and Spotify Premium. (Pandora too, but I genuinely forgot it existed until I started writing this article.)
Between Apple Music and Spotify, you have two armies. You will be hard pressed to find someone who likes both or uses both on a regular basis. So, what do the masses (and by masses I mean me myself and I) think of the two after using them both in paid, premium fashion? I have been using Apple Music since early 2016, and I used Spotify Premium for three months from the end of 2017 till just about a few weeks ago.
The Sound
In my opinion, there is no denying it - Apple Music has far superior and crisper audio quality. Spotify acknowledges that they maintain better audio in their Premium service versus their free one, but even still, Apple Music possesses clearer and more high definition sound. It also sounds better when connected to Bluetooth in the car versus when Spotify is.
The Look
Spotify's entire look and aesthetic is way more pleasing than Apple Music's. Apple Music is a bit boring with its look: just a white backdrop with the song or album artwork in the middle. What's also negative about Apple Music's look is that you still see the information top bar that contains time, battery, signal, etc., while listening to music, whereas with Spotify that's all hidden. Spotify makes for much more pleasing screenshots when you want to post your current track to your Instagram story. (Because duh, that's why we all listen to music in the first place.)
The Videos
A great addition to Apple Music is its plethora of music videos. In high definition, you can access almost any artist's music video. Spotify lacks this. No need to watch Britney Spears' "Circus" on YouTube and wait through ads if you have Apple Music. Just type it in as you would a song and it's right there!
The Ability
Spotify does not do well without WiFi. Actually, I do not think Spotify works at all without WiFi or some type of Internet connection. Apple Music does. I have made several long road trips which include driving through mountains and no mans land areas and Apple Music still works. And that is without playing downloaded tracks. Spotify, without WiFi, does not load whatsoever. That's a major drawback.
The Playlists
Man, oh man. Spotify is unbeatable when it comes to its playlist abilities. There are hundreds of thousands of playlists on there, either curated by Spotify's people or your friend Emily. Any playlist, any time: coffee shop vibes, Saturday morning walks, night time chill, etc. IT'S ALL THERE. Apple Music has playlists, but they are definitely not as advanced and specific as Spotify's.
The Professionalism
There were times I didn't like how Spotify maintained its content. Like I said, anyone could make a playlist and post it, and I am pretty sure anyone can upload a song. Some album and song titles were not grammatically correct, which my Type A grammar psycho self cannot handle nor respect. Apple Music only has its employees make and post playlists, as well as songs. No third party works for them.
The Perks
Spotify has a really cool series titled Spotify Singles, where artists like Harry Styles and Sam Smith would record a couple songs live from a studio location just for Spotify. Very indie. Apple Music gets cool things like documentaries and exclusive behind the scenes video access, which they did with Harry (I'm not a Harry Styles obsessed freak what are you talking about) and the results were dope! An hour long Apple Music documentary in HD titled Behind The Album showed his fans the creative process behind the making of his album.
The Licensing
I am pretty sure Apple Music just has a better licensing deal with labels because sometimes they get new material (new albums, singles, etc.) so much faster than Spotify, even before midnight of the official release date. For example, when an album is set to release on May 12, I will have it in my Apple Music at around 8 PM on May 11. I'm down!
The Partnerships
A few months ago Spotify announced it would be partnering with Hulu. Essentially, anyone with Spotify Premium would also have access to a Hulu account, which is a pretty fantastic deal. Apple Music has yet to announce such a partnership.
To Conclude
Both Spotify and Apple Music are fabulous. It really boils down to the individual and their preferences to which one they prefer. After using both, I have to say Apple Music just better suits my tastes and what I want to be paying for.
It's up to you to decide: Apple Music or Spotify Premium?
