There are many music streaming services to choose from: Amazon music, Pandora and Tidal, but Apple Music and Spotify are by far the most popular. Spotify is edging out Apple music, taking 36% of the market while Apple Music is close behind with 30.7% of the market share. Why is Spotify leading the market?
Spotify’s social features are superior to Apple Music. Spotify allows users to share a playlist, follow friends, and see what others are listening to in real-time. Spotify also allows you to create a playlist with another person so you can both add to the shared playlist.
Spotify’s once a year event called Spotify Wrapped gives users an anticipated moment to share their yearly music habits on Instagram stories or other social media platforms. Apple music has come out with Apple Music Replay but it hasn’t seemed to gain the popularity as Spotify Wrapped.
Spotify is generally more user friendly than Apple Music. It is known for having powerful algorithms that are highly effective in helping users discover new music that is tailored to their taste. Apple Music also has personalized playlists such as “for you” and “new music mix” but it is less advanced than Spotify.
Apple Music places more emphasis on curated content than on your personal generated playlist. Spotify is simple to use, better organized, and your playlist is easily accessed as compared to Apple Music. The app can also be used on any device offering seamless control when switching between devices like phones, speakers, Xboxes, and PlayStations, whereas Apple Music is not as easy to play on non-apple devices and you lose some of the play functions.
Lastly, Spotify has a free option, no credit card required version. This option allows you to listen to music and podcasts, create, edit, and share playlists. However, the free option does have ads and does not allow offline listening. The paid subscriptions are $11.99/mo for a premium, no advertisements, which includes 15 hours a month of audiobooks. College students can get Spotify for $5.99/mo along with free access to Hulu. On the other hand, Apple Music charges $10.99/mo for ad free plan, no audiobooks included. College students can get Apple Music for $5.99/mo with free access to Apple TV but there is no free option for Apple Music.
These two heavy hitters in the music streaming platform have a lot to offer, but Spotify is still slightly ahead of Apple because of its ability to make music a community by its social features, user friendly app, and affordable, free plan options. Ultimately, Spotify is better at promoting and encouraging users to share on their app and other social media than Apple Music.
