Spotify free vs Premium vs Gaana free vs paid streamed vs downloaded vs Tidal

[newlash09]

I’ve never been able to distinguish between Gaana plus and same on CD. In some cases it sounds better on Gaana. They must’ve got good copies from the master.

Hi sandeep...good evening

I would fully agree. I guess they are taking their 320 kbps rips from the studio master recordings for the newer films. And it shows really...It sounds pristine to me.

And I listen to gaana mostly 50%, followed by tidal 30%, follows by HD rips from my NAS..And between all three, I find absolutely nothing that gaana should be shy about. If I can go to a better way to deliver gaana to my dac, maybe there is better sound quality to be had. That's the angle Iam pursuing now

 

[Ashenden]

Hi sandeep...good evening

I would fully agree. I guess they are taking their 320 kbps rips from the studio master recordings for the newer films. And it shows really...It sounds pristine to me.

And I listen to gaana mostly 50%, followed by tidal 30%, follows by HD rips from my NAS..And between all three, I find absolutely nothing that gaana should be shy about. If I can go to a better way to deliver gaana to my dac, maybe there is better sound quality to be had. That's the angle Iam pursuing now

Good evening
Yes. Even for older Malayalam releases in 90s, I found them to have some very good rips. It was a real godsend since lot of the songs I liked were buried in cassettes of that period

 

[newlash09]

Good evening
Yes. Even for older Malayalam releases in 90s, I found them to have some very good rips. It was a real godsend since lot of the songs I liked were buried in cassettes of that period

Haha..That's great to know

Same for the Telugu songs here

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Tidal is very good. Was listening to quite a lot of music today, especially vocal centric music and it was a real good experience. Darn expensive though considering that 4K HDR Netflix is only 800 per month. But nonetheless, keeping it.

Guess it’d get corrected when they decide to launch in India. Even I think Netflix should be the guideline.. so should get priced at Rs 600 or so. But even at current prices it justiifies through the drastically reduced budget on newer CDs.

 

[newlash09]

Guess it’d get corrected when they decide to launch in India. Even I think Netflix should be the guideline.. so should get priced at Rs 600 or so. But even at current prices it justiifies through the drastically reduced budget on newer CDs.

Tidal is worth every penny even at the present asking price I feel. The quality is really sublime. And so is their app ecosystem. Though I use it from roon

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Tidal is worth every penny even at the present asking price I feel. The quality is really sublime. And so is their app ecosystem. Though I use it from roon

@newlash09, I tried Roon trial, but didn’t subscribe as my streamer (CXN v2) is not Roon enabled and I find that using AirPlay to cast FLAC impacts the sound quality. But Roon is great stuff for any music lover. I don’t need their multi-room functionality but the magazine layout and ease of discovering new music and learning more about the music you hear is so valuable. Also their customer orientation is remarkable. This guy Eric Stewart (who is content creation specialist there) wrote detailed answers and suggestions to my mail to them. Very helpful and dedicated. Also another limitation I found was that I couldn’t add to my Tidal playlists from Roon (though I can access them to play), but had to add to playlists created in Roon.

You mentioned Tidal’s app ecosystem. Apart from Roon, can you please tell which other apps it integrates with and what all apps you use with Tidal? Thanks.

 

[Ashenden]

BofA-ML recently published their findings indicating usage patterns across music streaming services in India. YT Music & Spotify are at the top

 

[blackscorpio]

BofA-ML recently published their findings indicating usage patterns across music streaming services in India. YT Music & Spotify are at the top

View attachment 37127

IMO, JioSaavn should be excluded I guess bcoz of their FREE userbase, it may not be a correct measure. Of Course same case with Wynk Music, may not be not much as JioSaavn.

 

[Ashenden]

IMO, JioSaavn should be excluded I guess bcoz of their FREE userbase, it may not be a correct measure. Of Course same case with Wynk Music, may not be not much as JioSaavn.

In all these services, including YT Music and Spotify, I feel majority of users won't be paying anything. They must be in the free tier. As per EY, only 1-1.5 Million users in India are paying in the 150 Mil user base for streaming

 

[Deleted member 15865]

BofA-ML recently published their findings indicating usage patterns across music streaming services in India. YT Music & Spotify are at the top

View attachment 37127

Sandeep this tells us the usage by an average user, but not the market share of the services. Any idea of that? I’d imagine the higher usage per user of YT and Spotify might have something to do with the wider variety of content on those services than the rest which are more Bollywood-centric.

 

[newlash09]

@newlash09, I tried Roon trial, but didn’t subscribe as my streamer (CXN v2) is not Roon enabled and I find that using AirPlay to cast FLAC impacts the sound quality. But Roon is great stuff for any music lover. I don’t need their multi-room functionality but the magazine layout and ease of discovering new music and learning more about the music you hear is so valuable. Also their customer orientation is remarkable. This guy Eric Stewart (who is content creation specialist there) wrote detailed answers and suggestions to my mail to them. Very helpful and dedicated. Also another limitation I found was that I couldn’t add to my Tidal playlists from Roon (though I can access them to play), but had to add to playlists created in Roon.

You mentioned Tidal’s app ecosystem. Apart from Roon, can you please tell which other apps it integrates with and what all apps you use with Tidal? Thanks.

I've used tidal in the past with the bluesound eco system from a bluesound power node. Sometimes I stream tidal from a Yamaha wxc50 to my HT system, via Yamaha's music cast app. Also downloaded a tidal android apk and installed it on my android tab. I sometimes stream via CCA from this app. And in all these iterations including the 4th one which is roon, tidal still works a charm without any hiccups

 

[Deleted member 15865]

IMO, JioSaavn should be excluded I guess bcoz of their FREE userbase, it may not be a correct measure. Of Course same case with Wynk Music, may not be not much as JioSaavn.

Blackscorpio, I’d agree with your point if it was comparing market share, but since they are only comparing average usage time per day per user, it doesn’t matter if paid or free. Once you pay a fixed cost for your subscription, you don’t have to limit your usage... it costs the same if you use it for 2 mins or 2 hrs a day.

I've used tidal in the past with the bluesound eco system from a bluesound power node. Sometimes I stream tidal from a Yamaha wxc50 to my HT system, via Yamaha's music cast app. Also downloaded a tidal android apk and installed it on my android tab. I sometimes stream via CCA from this app. And in all these iterations including the 4th one which is roon, tidal still works a charm without any hiccups

Thanks. The apps you’ve listed (barring Roon) are all software that accompany the streamer and sit on your handheld device as remote control for Tidal being played by the streamer. I use Cambridge’s CA Connect for the same purpose (but it’s nowhere as competent as Bluesound’s app which has the best functionality). I was asking about other kinds of software/apps that might be integrated... for example a Shazam kind of song-recognising app or Allmusic/Discogs type of music database and so on.

 

[newlash09]

Thanks. The apps you’ve listed (barring Roon) are all software that accompany the streamer and sit on your handheld device as remote control for Tidal being played by the streamer. I use Cambridge’s CA Connect for the same purpose. I was asking about other kinds of software/apps that might be integrated... for example a Shazam kind of song-recognising app or Allmusic/Discogs type of music database and so on.

Oops sorry Sachin...Iam not familiar with any of the above. My computer skills are non existent. So I've never dabbles outside apps from makers on my own

 

[Ashenden]

Sandeep this tells us the usage by an average user, but not the market share of the services. Any idea of that? I’d imagine the higher usage per user of YT and Spotify might have something to do with the wider variety of content on those services than the rest which are more Bollywood-centric.

Youtube is pre loaded on all android phones, so they do have an upper hand to cross sell YT music. Spotify, it is a surprise. As you say, it must be the good catalog of international content and the polished interface on mobile and web. I couldn't find recent market share data, the ones that are available are more than a year old.

 

[indy70]

I have (and tried) all the below streaming services:

Gaana: High quality audio but sh*ttiest interface on the whole planet with sh*t smeared all over the place on the screen.

Amazon Music: Now has the widest library collection including Indian (some rare ones too). But the interface is just bland, no masala, no recommendations, no mixes (even Gaana has mixes and they are good).

JioSaavn: High quality audio, and somewhat pleasing interface compared to the above 2. Some podcast stuff and unrelated playlists get in the way making it a bit difficult to use. But otherwise good service overall.

Spotify: High quality audio (Balanced dynamic sound. Loudness is over) Probably the best in interface and clean look. But misses half of most important contents here in India. Hope they cross the legal hurdle and bring them soon. Works great with Spotify Connect speakers

Apple Music: Nice clean interface, High quality audio (bit loud). Clueless when it comes to Bollywood/Indian music. Recommendations are worst for Indian music and have only 2 playlists that gets updated - A-List, Breaking. iCloud music is a good feature, but I guess it doesn't matter if you are looking for playlists and interface.

YT Music: Too video centric and cluttered look due to that. They could separate Music and Video into different sections and that can make it better. High quality audio and the mixes are pretty good. Your MixTape is the best to play when you are not sure what to play. It can't go wrong.

Considering all of this, I am now using Spotify Premium (2 of my old systems came alive with Spotify Connect - Denon AV Receiver and Bose SoundTouch 10 and the new one I put it in the Hall - Harman Kardon Omni 20+), JioSaavn (299 per year) and Amazon Music (Included in my Prime) (mostly through the Echo Dot to system interface)

 

[Ashenden]

Sandeep this tells us the usage by an average user, but not the market share of the services. Any idea of that? I’d imagine the higher usage per user of YT and Spotify might have something to do with the wider variety of content on those services than the rest which are more Bollywood-centric.

This is the latest global market share breakdown. Unsurprisingly Amazon is hot on their heels to dominate this segment too.

Amazon Music Growth Outpaces Spotify, Apple Music

A new report says that Amazon is growing subscribers for its music service faster than market leaders Spotify and Apple.

www.thurrott.com

 

[Deleted member 15865]

This is the latest global market share breakdown. Unsurprisingly Amazon is hot on their heels to dominate this segment too.

Amazon Music Growth Outpaces Spotify, Apple Music

A new report says that Amazon is growing subscribers for its music service faster than market leaders Spotify and Apple.

www.thurrott.com

As expected! Look how they are redefining the market from youngsters to families through Alexa. (Even those TV adds with Rasika Duggar). That’s a differentiator for them. Siri and Google Assistant are not even close.

 

[rksingh1]

Siri and Google Assistant are not even close

Thats a little extreme statement.

I downloaded Spotify - logged in, connected it with Yamaha AVR, Google Home and used it with Android Auto. I totally loved the experience. They zip out 128kbps on free version with ads every 3-4 songs. Those ads typically are for 15-30 seconds and are annoying, but the quality of those 128kbps audio files is top notch. Plus the built in playlists are good. Played India top 50 and got some real diverse songs. I am planning to get the paid one.

I have a paid Wynk subscription - that means it lets me play in 320kbps and surprisingly Spotify 128 defeated Wynk 320 hands down. I felt so let down with Wynk. On top of that Wynk doesn't have Android Auto support nor it can be configured in Yamaha AVR. I doubt I am going to use Wynk much.

I have Amazon Music thanks to Prime subscription. I feel Amazon streams in 128kbps all the time. I have the settings in Amazon Music app (thankfully they do have a setting for music Streaming quality) which is pushed to "Best Quality" - but I don't know if that means 320kbps or something else. The quality and experience is acceptable but their playlist is crap. Top 50 India has top 3 songs from Kabir Singh and #5 is an english song which neither I or my wife has heard. It works ok with Android Auto and doesn't work Google Home or Yamaha AVR. I haven't found it to be better than Spotify though.

Google Play Music - this is the app that I have on phone for offline songs. This is my default player. Works with Android Auto and Google home. Google home lets me search and play premium content also. So far so good.

Youtube Music - there is no free version here. You got trial phase, but eventually, you need to pay. Surprisingly - I get it for free with Google home max. So if you ask Google home max to play "Taki Taki" - it'll get the video and play for you. Sadly, it needs the subscription for Google home mini and Android auto to work.

 

[alpha1]

I am using the Saavn free service and the content I get is at par with the HQ CD rips.
However, I have noted that the source also makes a difference - for example Whitesnake's 1987 album has two different version available in Saavn. One sounds better than the other.

 

[Vivek Batra]

My main source of music is streaming. I started with free version of Spotify initially. I play using Spotify Connect in my Denon x4500H. I upgraded to Spotify premium a couple of months ago in a hope that I will get a huge quality improvement. But to my disappointment its not the case. I have a more than 40Mbps internet connection quite stable and good and the settings in Spotify is "Very High" for streaming.

Even some tracks on you tube, play much richer and dynamic than Spotify. Last week I opted for Gaana+ subscription as well. Again not much different from the free version of Gaana.

Just before writing this post, I played song on my laptop connected to AVR via hdmi, I played following version. MP3 , Ganna+ and Spotify. I couldn't make any difference between mp3 and Gaana/Spotify. Its very unlikely that my mp3 file is of superb quality.

Another test I did is with flac file whihc scores over anything.

My conclusion is not all the paid content is of high quality. May be only 20-30% content is HD or higher rest everything is compressed or as good as mp3 only.

Lets see who agrees with me.