Music Streaming Services

[Wa10]

They've come a long way since Spotify was launched nearly 9 years ago, and I think it's fair to say they've transformed both the way we consume music and also the music industry as a whole. 

For a long time there was only really Spotify, and their offering was limited at best, however now they've been joined by Amazon, Apple, Napster (in a legal form!) and Tidal amongst many others.

Pricing has remained incredibly keen, with most offering a "premium" service for around the price of 1 album, and many even offer a way to listen for free so long as you don't mind a few adverts. Then there are the Family Plan options, allowing multiple members of a household to benefit from a greatly reduced cost - as low as £2.50 per person for unlimited music streaming, that's cheaper than a handful of songs on the pub jukebox!

The question is, do you stream your music? And if so, which service do you use and why? Is there a "best" service out there, or is it a case of different services suiting different people/scenario's? Maybe there's not much to choose between them at all.

For me, I've been a Spotify user pretty much since it launched here in the UK. Back in the day I only really used it on my PC in work, however that quickly changed to my mobile - which I now use when working, in the car and also when out and about on foot. I've also recently paired my account with Amazon's Echo, so that I have instant access at home without having to use my phone or tablet to play via a separate bluetooth speaker.

It was this recent development which got me thinking about the options, as Amazon of course offer their own music services - I can access Prime Music as I'm a Prime member anyway, and they were quick to try and sell me an "Echo" subscription to the Music Unlimited service for just £3.99 per month which sounds like an absolute bargain, although not much use to me as I use extensively on my phone as well.

Seriosuly thinking about upgrading to a family plan offering, either via Spotify or Amazon, so that the family can benefit too - part of the reason for me posting this, as I'm wondering which way to go and looking for any obvious advantage to one over the other, as the cost is the same. I know that with Amazon I could ask Alexa to play a song based on it's lyrics, but then is that really something I'm ever going to use - and if so, why would I not just ask Alexa to Google the title for me instead?

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I use spotify premium and use it a lot mostly on my daily commute to teh big city or if im relaxing at home with a glass of wine and a book, i have built and grown a big libary of music on my play list, however i do also use Itunes for a lot of albums, maily spotify is used for either albums i dont have or music that is only avalible on spotify. My partner also uses spotify and she loves it and has a family plan with her 2 children and they all use spotify too, im lucky that i dont use any data to stream music, however if i did use data i would just stick to iTunes 

[gmarkj]

I'm actually rather boring in that I tend to not stream music at all.
I mainly listen to podcasts on the way too/from work with the occasional radio stream (depending on who is on and what I have to listen to).
If I just want music I listen to something on the memory stick in the car.
Saying that I might give one of the above a go (on the free/ad based offerings). Looking at who has what, I would go with Spotify.
To answer your question though @Wa10, depends on who has the better catalogue to choose from!
If you are looking at the family options, then I would say Spotify based on the lower cost and similar number of songs. But that is just me!

[jonsie]

My eldest son uses Spotify and has the family package. He wouldn't be without it but there again, as a Paramedic, he can sometimes sit for hours at night in the fast response car parked up waiting for the next call.

Personally I just download the music to my PC and transfer it to the phone. I'm desperately needing some new music.... 

[Beenherebefore]

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@jonsie wrote:

I'm desperately needing some new music.... 

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http://live.audiospace.co/northernair ..............????

[jonsie]

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@Beenherebefore wrote:

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@jonsie wrote:

I'm desperately needing some new music.... 

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http://live.audiospace.co/northernair ..............????

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Interesting..... I kept waiting for Laurel & Hardy to pop up. I could slowly lose the will to live listening to that 😃 

[Beenherebefore]

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@jonsie wrote:

I could slowly lose the will to live listening to that 😃 

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I thought you'd love that 

[Wa10]

Thanks for your input folks, much appreciated.

There really does seem to be little to choose between the 2 options on a family plan, as both seem to have comparable catalogues and the cost is the same - the only time Amazon makes more sense would be either to use on a single Echo, or an individual subscription where Prime membership means you save a couple of pounds per month.

Shame there's not a prime related saving for family, unless you're prepared to stump up the year in advance.

I'll probably stick with Spotify, and when my monthly plan is due for renewal take the opportunity to upgrade to family, however as there's a 30 day free trial for Amazon on the family plan it's worth having a play with it.

[gmarkj]

Looking for anything in particular @jonsie? Genre wise that is...

[Wa10]

No idea on your musical tastes @jonsie, however I was introduced to The Lemon Twigs a couple of weeks back and very taken by them. I'm also a big fan of Sigrid at the moment, saw her live for the first time at Glastonbury where she played a very chilled, laid back set in The Park, and off to see her in Manchester soon too. Both definitely worth a listen.