Spotify or Apple Music or YouTube Music Premium?

[narenvaidee]

I have been using Apple Music since it was launched in India, and was very satisfied with it, until recently. I have been noticing many of my favorite songs disappear - maybe because of licensing requirements. So, I tried Spotify and YouTube Music Premium over the trial periods. For some reason, I'm not convinced the Spotify and YouTube Music are below Apple Music when it comes to quality. It could purely be that the songs are encoded in different bitrates/formats across these platforms. Or, maybe, it's just me. Also, I came across a couple of videos mentioning how Spotify's bitrate is far superior to Apple Music (it was actually the other way around when I did A/B comparison).

Can you share your thoughts on Spotify and YouTube Music? I generally listen to songs on my humble Cambridge Audio setup with Schiit Modi3 DAC. I'm also including a poll to understand your thoughts better. I'm soon planning to switch to one of the other streaming services and this helps!

Thank you!

Mods: Please move this to the appropriate thread, if required.

 

[Denzil]

I have been using Apple Music since it was launched in India, and was very satisfied with it, until recently. I have been noticing many of my favorite songs disappear - maybe because of licensing requirements. So, I tried Spotify and YouTube Music Premium over the trial periods. For some reason, I'm not convinced the Spotify and YouTube Music are below Apple Music when it comes to quality. It could purely be that the songs are encoded in different bitrates/formats across these platforms. Or, maybe, it's just me. Also, I came across a couple of videos mentioning how Spotify's bitrate is far superior to Apple Music (it was actually the other way around when I did A/B comparison).

Can you share your thoughts on Spotify and YouTube Music? I generally listen to songs on my humble Cambridge Audio setup with Schiit Modi3 DAC. I'm also including a poll to understand your thoughts better. I'm soon planning to switch to one of the other streaming services and this helps!

Thank you!

Mods: Please move this to the appropriate thread, if required.

Here's what I have found on the net.
"The standard bitrate for the Spotify desktop app is 160 kbps for free users. Mobile devices get an even more compressed 96 kbps bitrate. But subscribing to Spotify Premium unlocks access to 320 kbps audio streaming, which Spotify advertises as 'high-quality sound".

(I use Fitzwilliam Majority for streaming Spotify and the quality is excellent. I use a Prima Luna valve amplifier and Tannoy Monitor Gold 15 inch speakers in 255 ltr cabinets).

Regarding Apple Music, look here.

[Apple Music Bitrate] How to Improve Apple Music Quality from 256Kbps

Apple Music bitrate is streamed at 256Kbps. If you want to change Apple Music sound quality to 320Kbps, you can check the tips here.

www.drmare.com

YouTube Music service launched with 128 kbps streams but has now doubled the bit-rate to 256 kbps (the format is AAC).

Regards,

Denzil

 

[Audio_Freek]

It all Matters the Region and Period of the the Songs you listen to. If you are looking for Indian Film Music Mid 90s and before,none of these Apps gonna impress you.For 95+ Or Western Music Better to get into Tidal.

 

[shibashis]

There is no clear winner between Spotify and Apple music. In my setup certain tracks sounded better on Spotify and others on Apple music, very difficult to form an objective opinion since it could very well be the other way round on a separate system. A lot would depend on the system itself, the components and in case a network streamer is being used, the implementation of Spotify Connect and AirPlay may vary from device to device as well. As with all things audio if you are looking for a clear answer, well that is not forthcoming!
if you consider Tidal then yes, that is superior and most will agree.

 

[narenvaidee]

Interesting responses, but I'm not surprised with them What surprised me was no one even suggested YouTube Music. From all my trials, I see YouTube Music's AI to be real good with suggestions and queue creations. Wish they had better quality.

 

[dazoy]

I am more impressed by the UI/UX experience with Spotify. I use all apple products but still finf Spotify easier to work with, and the curated playlists and vast library are what I like about Spotify.

 

[Ashenden]

@narenvaidee , I've used all three and currently use Spotify and YT music (on pause now, as I'm trying out a Tidal subscription) and following are my observations (you need to add a good helping of salt before taking action )

Audio Quality: As a fellow member noted above, it varies from album to album. It's likely not a limitation of the codec or bitrate used, but mostly due to the choice of master. No clear winners here.

Music discovery: Spotify's algorithms are a clear winner for me and the recommendations, be it albums/songs/playlists, all have a very high probability of being tailored to my interests. Same goes for intelligent radio algos. YT music will be a close second, followed by Apple, but the radio on AM has been a hit or miss for me. If you're really into Indie and obscure artists, then Spotify is more likely to surface them, than the others.
Apple's human curated lists are good, but somehow Spotify's algos beats them most of the time.

Library: Spotify had several missing albums from the 1970-80s, that I listen to, due to a fall out on a deal with Warner music, same was true with Saregama in India. But it appears, they've reached a new deal recently which should bring back all those missing albums. I still feel, YT music has a lot more of regional music

UI/Search:
I prefer AM's easy to read and organised layout over the other two, with all the additional background write up on the album and artist. Spotify is good, but not quite there. YT can look like a mess initially, but slowly I got used to it.
If you're searching for non-English words, YT music has better odds of finding them, in case of typos or misspelled names. AM does reasonably well, but Spotify will not return a result.
YT music and Spotify have a very fluid interface, while AM is clunky and takes time to load

Privacy: Spotify is notorious for several privacy concerns with several articles flagging them red (like this). YT, being a Google company also won't be far behind. AM will be a clear winner

As all three are offered at throwaway prices, you can try each for 3 months and pick your choice!

[Now you know why I didn't click on any of the choices in your poll, as there are no clear winners )

 

[Deleted member 15865]

@narenvaidee , I've used all three and currently use Spotify and YT music (on pause now, as I'm trying out a Tidal subscription) and following are my observations (you need to add a good helping of salt before taking action )

Audio Quality: As a fellow member noted above, it varies from album to album. It's likely not a limitation of the codec or bitrate used, but mostly due to the choice of master. No clear winners here.

Music discovery: Spotify's algorithms are a clear winner for me and the recommendations, be it albums/songs/playlists, all have a very high probability of being tailored to my interests. Same goes for intelligent radio algos. YT music will be a close second, followed by Apple, but the radio on AM has been a hit or miss for me. If you're really into Indie and obscure artists, then Spotify is more likely to surface them, than the others.
Apple's human curated lists are good, but somehow Spotify's algos beats them most of the time.

Library: Spotify had several missing albums from the 1970-80s, that I listen to, due to a fall out on a deal with Warner music, same was true with Saregama in India. But it appears, they've reached a new deal recently which should bring back all those missing albums. I still feel, YT music has a lot more of regional music

UI/Search:
I prefer AM's easy to read and organised layout over the other two, with all the additional background write up on the album and artist. Spotify is good, but not quite there. YT can look like a mess initially, but slowly I got used to it.
If you're searching for non-English words, YT music has better odds of finding them, in case of typos or misspelled names. AM does reasonably well, but Spotify will not return a result.
YT music and Spotify have a very fluid interface, while AM is clunky and takes time to load

Privacy: Spotify is notorious for several privacy concerns with several articles flagging them red (like this). YT, being a Google company also won't be far behind. AM will be a clear winner

As all three are offered at throwaway prices, you can try each for 3 months and pick your choice!

[Now you know why I didn't click on any of the choices in your poll, as there are no clear winners )

That’s a well-researched, elaborately articulated comparison covering so many aspects including but not limited to collection and quality.

Personally I always loved Apple Music’s interface (still do) and find its suggestions good enough. But it kept screwing with my painstakingly created playlists (esp. the nested playlists that iTunes allowed), got my goat and lost my custom. I tried Spotify and like how it is integrated with other apps and devices, but could never get to terms with its UI and color scheme. It’s subjective but that green color dominant design doesn’t agree with my musical mood. Youtube Music, like almost every Google initiative, I am wary of - everything they do could be 1. Too geeky and 2. Privacy intruding. And while Google aces at innovation, I never found them scoring on quality - the same applies to YT Music.

That puts me in a difficult situation with all the three leading services not satisfying me enough. Luckily Tidal does, on most counts. Although their collection may not be the most exhaustive, they compensate through multiple versions of popular albums. The interface is pleasing and very steady, streamer native support is a big add on. Of course it comes at a cost - and I am not talking of the Hifi (FLAC) or MQA quality (which is what I subscribe to). A like to like comparison would be with their Premium (compressed) subscription which is still at a high $9.99 pm. So, till they launch their service in India at an India price, it will only atttact those interested in the Hifi subscription. For the rest, the choice for international music streaming service is largely limited to Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube. I’d say broadly each will appeal (more) to the following segments:

1. Apple Music:
- Apple devices and platform users
- Aesthetically inclined users

2. Spotify:
- Music discoverers
- Younger listeners

3. YT Music:
- Technophiles
- Casual listeners

Likewise, Tidal would appeal more to:
- Audiophiles
- Heavy listeners (to justify the premium)

 

[Music Freak]

It all Matters the Region and Period of the the Songs you listen to. If you are looking for Indian Film Music Mid 90s and before,none of these Apps gonna impress you.For 95+ Or Western Music Better to get into Tidal.

Exactly my thoughts Here

 

[Ashenden]

But it kept screwing with my painstakingly created playlists (esp. the nested playlists that iTunes allowed), got my goat and lost my custom. I tried Spotify and like how it is integrated with other apps and devices, but could never get to terms with its UI and color scheme.

I had used Songshift app on iPad/Phone earlier to import playlists from Spotify to Apple (and vice versa). It supports almost all services including Tidal, works seamlessly with very few errors and you can do it once a month (or at a frequency that suits you manually, I think the free version doesn't support auto refresh at a set frequency), and have the best of both services

Youtube Music, like almost every Google initiative, I am wary of - everything they do could be 1. Too geeky and 2. Privacy intruding. And while Google aces at innovation, I never found them scoring on quality - the same applies to YT Music.

Yes, if privacy is a concern, AM (or Tidal) remains the best option. Google also has a track record of creating a hype while launching an application and later retiring them midway.

they compensate through multiple versions of popular albums.

I'm new to Tidal, but did notice this, and yes, this is an excellent feature!

 

[Kannan_madhu]

I had spotify premium and now use YT premium as i find sound quality is better with YT premium and it allows background playback and no ads . if you go for family account of yt premium its less than 40 rupee per month per user .

 

[narenvaidee]

@narenvaidee , I've used all three and currently use Spotify and YT music (on pause now, as I'm trying out a Tidal subscription) and following are my observations (you need to add a good helping of salt before taking action )

Audio Quality: As a fellow member noted above, it varies from album to album. It's likely not a limitation of the codec or bitrate used, but mostly due to the choice of master. No clear winners here.

Music discovery: Spotify's algorithms are a clear winner for me and the recommendations, be it albums/songs/playlists, all have a very high probability of being tailored to my interests. Same goes for intelligent radio algos. YT music will be a close second, followed by Apple, but the radio on AM has been a hit or miss for me. If you're really into Indie and obscure artists, then Spotify is more likely to surface them, than the others.
Apple's human curated lists are good, but somehow Spotify's algos beats them most of the time.

This is super comprehensive! I had to agree on the quality of music from these three platforms (that's primarily why I never even included Tidal in the mix). From an algorithm's perspective, Apple used to be good, but these days I don't seem to get any good recommendations. Spotify and YT are pretty good in this area.

That’s a well-researched, elaborately articulated comparison covering so many aspects including but not limited to collection and quality.

1. Apple Music:
- Apple devices and platform users
- Aesthetically inclined users

2. Spotify:
- Music discoverers
- Younger listeners

3. YT Music:
- Technophiles
- Casual listeners

Likewise, Tidal would appeal more to:
- Audiophiles
- Heavy listeners (to justify the premium)

You've summed this up really well. I will get to Tidal only when they come to India with an affordable plan. All I want is consistency in quality - I don't want to be listening to Ilayaraja's on Spotify and Rahman's on AM because of the different sound qualities.

But, from the poll, I see why Spotify is a clear winner

 

[Ashenden]

Library: Spotify had several missing albums from the 1970-80s, that I listen to, due to a fall out on a deal with Warner music, same was true with Saregama in India. But it appears, they've reached a new deal recently which should bring back all those missing albums.

Update: Saregama-HMV titles are now available on Spotify. The sound quality is quite good, I did try out a few tracks.
But it looks like they’ve managed to get a different master for a couple of albums I checked. Case in point, “Close to my heart” is an album sung by Jagjit Singh, comprising of his favourites from SD Burman’s compositions. This album(barring 2 tracks) sounds very bad on Saregama WAV downloads, Tidal, Apple Music and Gaana. But here, it’s different

 

[Haribabu]

It depend on your taste and album you select.
if you like oldies Youtube Music is best. Audio quality of Spotify and Apple seems to be same.

 

[irv]

I have been using Apple Music since it was launched in India, and was very satisfied with it, until recently. I have been noticing many of my favorite songs disappear - maybe because of licensing requirements. So, I tried Spotify and YouTube Music Premium over the trial periods. For some reason, I'm not convinced the Spotify and YouTube Music are below Apple Music when it comes to quality. It could purely be that the songs are encoded in different bitrates/formats across these platforms. Or, maybe, it's just me. Also, I came across a couple of videos mentioning how Spotify's bitrate is far superior to Apple Music (it was actually the other way around when I did A/B comparison).

Can you share your thoughts on Spotify and YouTube Music? I generally listen to songs on my humble Cambridge Audio setup with Schiit Modi3 DAC. I'm also including a poll to understand your thoughts better. I'm soon planning to switch to one of the other streaming services and this helps!

Thank you!

Mods: Please move this to the appropriate thread, if required.

Here are my two cents
I have been using Spotify and was not satisfied.Recently I subscribed to gaana and found it much better than spotify. Paid members get access to HD music. Also many of the tracks which I couldn't find in Spotify could be found in gaana. I think you should give it a try.
I too am using Modi3.

 

[OM_2K19]

My vote is for Spotify. Their auto-generated playlist is simply awesome.

 

[superczar]

YT music is a bit of an oddball.
Apple Music and Spotify are both good and you should ideally take both if you are on the Apple ecosystem else spotify

 

[Rohit_Kabra]

Spotify is good in terms of the playlist, waiting eagerly when they will support lossless audio like Tidal Hi-Fi.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Spotify is good in terms of the playlist, waiting eagerly when they will support lossless audio like Tidal Hi-Fi.

Will they ever? Introducing a lossless option will make their huge current subscriber base feel like second rate citizens. It’s psychological. Will they risk the resentment?

 

[Rohit_Kabra]

Will they ever? Introducing a lossless option will make their huge current subscriber base feel like second rate citizens. It's psychological. Will they risk the resentment?

That's an interesting question. Probably they can make the lossless music available only to Premium users and increase the subscription to cover their additional cost.