Spotify vs Apple Music
Discussion
Just wondering if anyone here has experience or opinion on one vs the other?
Been thinking that a move to HD audio streaming would be ideal for me. I’m currently on Spotify premium which doesn’t offer lossless and they can’t give a date for its introduction since announcing they would do so 2+ years ago. Apple say their entire library is now available lossless.
I do love Spotify’s interface and most of the new music I encounter is via discover weekly or other recommendations. I am sure I’ll get used to a UI change but do wonder whether I will miss the latter. Can’t see any other reasons not to change, the top Apple Music subscription is only 4 quid a month here (non uk) which is the same as I’m paying for Spotify. I also see there are apps to transfer playlists which removes a major objection to change.
ETA: any alternatives beyond these 2? I listen in the car, home stereo, office via pc and on my mobile so ease of access is important.
Been thinking that a move to HD audio streaming would be ideal for me. I’m currently on Spotify premium which doesn’t offer lossless and they can’t give a date for its introduction since announcing they would do so 2+ years ago. Apple say their entire library is now available lossless.
I do love Spotify’s interface and most of the new music I encounter is via discover weekly or other recommendations. I am sure I’ll get used to a UI change but do wonder whether I will miss the latter. Can’t see any other reasons not to change, the top Apple Music subscription is only 4 quid a month here (non uk) which is the same as I’m paying for Spotify. I also see there are apps to transfer playlists which removes a major objection to change.
ETA: any alternatives beyond these 2? I listen in the car, home stereo, office via pc and on my mobile so ease of access is important.
Edited by shirt on Thursday 13th July 14:26
Would you mind asking her what she rates about it?
Yes I think I will notice the quality. I have a HD audio player and custom IEM’s for mobile listening and a chord mojo dac plus electrostatic cans at work. There’s a noticeable difference in listening to the same album between Spotify and a HD download.
Current hifi is not up to scratch but have been wanting to replace it for a while with much dithering about which way to jump. I shipped my better hifi and music collection to uk so a nas drive and cd ripping isn’t straight forward. HD streaming seems the logical step.
Yes I think I will notice the quality. I have a HD audio player and custom IEM’s for mobile listening and a chord mojo dac plus electrostatic cans at work. There’s a noticeable difference in listening to the same album between Spotify and a HD download.
Current hifi is not up to scratch but have been wanting to replace it for a while with much dithering about which way to jump. I shipped my better hifi and music collection to uk so a nas drive and cd ripping isn’t straight forward. HD streaming seems the logical step.
I left Spotify for two reasons, 1) they give too much money to Joe Rogan and other dodgy podcasters, and 2) I get Apple Music with my phone plan. I’ve noticed the amount of content (music, not podcasts) isn’t much different between the two, but Spotify playlists are better, ask it to play alternative 80’s for example, and Spotify plays a better and more varied selection. But Apple Lossless stamps all over Spotify for audio quality. I’ll stick with apple cos there’s no point paying for something I get free, but I think even if I did have to pay for it, I’d still stick with Apple.
shirt said:
Just wondering if anyone here has experience or opinion on one vs the other?.
ETA: any alternatives beyond these 2? I listen in the car, home stereo, office via pc and on my mobile so ease of access is important.
I had Spotify for years then went to Apple Music following a free trial. ETA: any alternatives beyond these 2? I listen in the car, home stereo, office via pc and on my mobile so ease of access is important.
Edited by shirt on Thursday 13th July 14:26
I am not sure how well Apple Music “plays with” non Apple gear so that may be a consideration. With an iPhone iPad of course it’s seamless.
With that said - and if you’re confident you can tell the difference in sound quality over AAC - it is worth it for the following reasons I think
Spacial audio - not a gimmick, when done well it sounds remarkable
Apple Radio - several shows hosted by high profile artists
Classical music hived off into a separate app that is better for searching
Apple Music also includes iTunes Match - it will store your own music library.
Option to pay annually for a small discount
I have Apple Music on my iPhone and am very happy with it - haven’t compared with Spotify. However, on my Windows 10 PC and laptop, there is no app, forcing me to listen to it through iTunes or through the browser - both of these options are functional but slow and buggy. I believe that Windows 11 has an Apple Music app but can’t confirm what it’s like.
shirt said:
ETA: any alternatives beyond these 2? I listen in the car, home stereo, office via pc and on my mobile so ease of access is important.
I am a music and hifi junkie - so the worst person to ask in some respects!Having been weened on vinyl and then making the costly move over to CD (replacing all of my albums and buying more) and now... streaming!
I started with Apple Music which I liked to begin with but then got fed up with the heavily curated experience of the Apple ecosystem, then Spotify (which I still have) and now Qobuz/Roon.
The Qobuz/Roon experience has been the best so far. Not only for the high resolution abilities but for the discovery part which lets you dig deeply into each artist with biographies, influences, artist credits and so on. Roon have recently introduced Roon ARC which is a mobile version and works in the same way Spotify does - just a better quality.
I also have active streaming hifi speakers (KEF LS60's) so Roon is excellent at controlling those - everything goes through Roon. I also have a moderately large music collection - Roon manages that in such a simple, robust and attractive way.
I only have Spotify because it's integrated into my car's hifi... I could use Roon ARC by having my phone control the music, but can't be bothered.
Yes, I used Spotify and then moved to Apple Music because I had 6 months free, gone back to Spotify now.
I couldn’t tell a difference using AirPods and a sonos 1 with the music quality to be honest, and preferred the Spotify user interface, I like that it makes daily playlists for you, has cool things like throwback Thursday etc, Apple Music does have these but they’re harder to find
Also found that the Alexa in my kitchen hated streaming anything from Apple Music and would often just not play it.
Most songs are on apple, but overall when actually paying for it, Spotify wins for me, espcsilly the duo account
I couldn’t tell a difference using AirPods and a sonos 1 with the music quality to be honest, and preferred the Spotify user interface, I like that it makes daily playlists for you, has cool things like throwback Thursday etc, Apple Music does have these but they’re harder to find
Also found that the Alexa in my kitchen hated streaming anything from Apple Music and would often just not play it.
Most songs are on apple, but overall when actually paying for it, Spotify wins for me, espcsilly the duo account
bolidemichael said:
funinhounslow said:
Apple Music also includes iTunes Match - it will store your own music library.
Can you tell me more about this feature? I cannot find it on the app. https://www.ubackup.com/phone-backup/add-mp3-to-ap...
It's the only thing I use Apple Music for - I've got several albums and versions of albums that aren't on any of the streaming sites, for example the Faithless album Back to Mine is a compilation they mixed and released but it's just not on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Similarly The Vandals released a UK version of an album with 'Steal the Flag' on it, it was one of my favourite songs but just isn't on the streaming sites so to listen to it I put a ripped CD on iTunes.
I prefer Spotify for everything else though, I mostly listen to the "[artist] Radio" playlists and the Apple versions just aren't as good.
NDA said:
...snip...
I also have a moderately large music collection - Roon manages that in such a simple, robust and attractive way.
...snip...
Can you elaborate a bit on this, please? I have several thousand tracks ripped from my CD collection on Apple Music and listen pretty much exclusively to this. I spent many weeks rating most of the music.I also have a moderately large music collection - Roon manages that in such a simple, robust and attractive way.
...snip...
My go-to playlist is a smart playlist - tracks that I have rated 4* or above that I haven't listened to in the last 3 months. I almost never think "I want to listen to a particular artist (or album)". It is more "I want music - play me something I like that I haven't heard for a while".
I have assumed that streaming will just lose all of that bespoke tailoring and I will get a morass of stuff that doesn't interest me (I have very occasionally tried some Spotify playlists and most of it is dross).
The key to paying for Spotify for me is the Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists that change weekly and for me are so well tailored.
I personally don’t know which new tracks are good, and have no interesting in spending a lot of my time trying to find new music. This is where Spotify is great, it find absolute bangers that I would never have found otherwise.
Apple Music never came close for me, it doesnt come close to the above functionality. Its algorithm picks terrible recommendations, and the way it does it doesnt make sense either.
I personally don’t know which new tracks are good, and have no interesting in spending a lot of my time trying to find new music. This is where Spotify is great, it find absolute bangers that I would never have found otherwise.
Apple Music never came close for me, it doesnt come close to the above functionality. Its algorithm picks terrible recommendations, and the way it does it doesnt make sense either.
AstonZagato said:
NDA said:
...snip...
I also have a moderately large music collection - Roon manages that in such a simple, robust and attractive way.
...snip...
Can you elaborate a bit on this, please? I have several thousand tracks ripped from my CD collection on Apple Music and listen pretty much exclusively to this. I spent many weeks rating most of the music.I also have a moderately large music collection - Roon manages that in such a simple, robust and attractive way.
...snip...
My go-to playlist is a smart playlist - tracks that I have rated 4* or above that I haven't listened to in the last 3 months. I almost never think "I want to listen to a particular artist (or album)". It is more "I want music - play me something I like that I haven't heard for a while".
I have assumed that streaming will just lose all of that bespoke tailoring and I will get a morass of stuff that doesn't interest me (I have very occasionally tried some Spotify playlists and most of it is dross).
The upside is that the follow on from an album, track or playlist is quite smart and approximates the genre and track selection fairly well, making it enjoyable to continue listening and introducing me to new tracks and artists.
AstonZagato said:
Can you elaborate a bit on this, please? I have several thousand tracks ripped from my CD collection on Apple Music and listen pretty much exclusively to this. I spent many weeks rating most of the music.
My go-to playlist is a smart playlist - tracks that I have rated 4* or above that I haven't listened to in the last 3 months. I almost never think "I want to listen to a particular artist (or album)". It is more "I want music - play me something I like that I haven't heard for a while".
I have assumed that streaming will just lose all of that bespoke tailoring and I will get a morass of stuff that doesn't interest me (I have very occasionally tried some Spotify playlists and most of it is dross).
Roon would be perfect for you.... take a free trial and see what you think.My go-to playlist is a smart playlist - tracks that I have rated 4* or above that I haven't listened to in the last 3 months. I almost never think "I want to listen to a particular artist (or album)". It is more "I want music - play me something I like that I haven't heard for a while".
I have assumed that streaming will just lose all of that bespoke tailoring and I will get a morass of stuff that doesn't interest me (I have very occasionally tried some Spotify playlists and most of it is dross).
Roon is, essentially a library management tool - it does it beautifully, robustly, seamlessly and intelligently. Tell Roon where your library is and it does the rest. It completes the album artwork (if missing) and allows you to dive into every bit of background on an artist. Roon really needs 'Roon Ready' equipment - otherwise known as a Roon Endpoint. This simply means that Roon can see your speakers, amplifiers, pre-amplifiers etc and talks directly to them enabling high definition streaming.
When combined with Qobuz (or Tidal) your library appears to be merged (it's not actually merged) with their catalogue - it appears to be a single library with a clear indication of what is in your own library and offering higher quality alternatives.
A trial is the way to go - it's what I did and I was completely absorbed in a couple of days. Couldn't live without it now - it's the interface to not only my music library and the Qobuz library, but also to my hifi system - Roon runs that too - with some extremely sophisticated Digital Signal Processing too.
They have recently launched a mobile product (Roon ARC) which I used travelling across France recently... quite odd to think I was listening to tracks being played directly from my library at home. It worked perfectly.
MesoForm said:
bolidemichael said:
funinhounslow said:
Apple Music also includes iTunes Match - it will store your own music library.
Can you tell me more about this feature? I cannot find it on the app. https://www.ubackup.com/phone-backup/add-mp3-to-ap...
It's the only thing I use Apple Music for - I've got several albums and versions of albums that aren't on any of the streaming sites, for example the Faithless album Back to Mine is a compilation they mixed and released but it's just not on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Similarly The Vandals released a UK version of an album with 'Steal the Flag' on it, it was one of my favourite songs but just isn't on the streaming sites so to listen to it I put a ripped CD on iTunes.
I prefer Spotify for everything else though, I mostly listen to the "[artist] Radio" playlists and the Apple versions just aren't as good.
It works well on a Mac - just drag the files over and they’re automatically there on all your devices.
funinhounslow said:
MesoForm said:
It's on the desktop app - you can import mp3s which will then get added to your music library but it's not a quick or straightforward process...
https://www.ubackup.com/phone-backup/add-mp3-to-ap...
It's the only thing I use Apple Music for - I've got several albums and versions of albums that aren't on any of the streaming sites, for example the Faithless album Back to Mine is a compilation they mixed and released but it's just not on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Similarly The Vandals released a UK version of an album with 'Steal the Flag' on it, it was one of my favourite songs but just isn't on the streaming sites so to listen to it I put a ripped CD on iTunes.
I prefer Spotify for everything else though, I mostly listen to the "[artist] Radio" playlists and the Apple versions just aren't as good.
Sorry if I’ve misunderstood but I think you can still subscribe to iTunes Match only for something like £25/year.https://www.ubackup.com/phone-backup/add-mp3-to-ap...
It's the only thing I use Apple Music for - I've got several albums and versions of albums that aren't on any of the streaming sites, for example the Faithless album Back to Mine is a compilation they mixed and released but it's just not on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Similarly The Vandals released a UK version of an album with 'Steal the Flag' on it, it was one of my favourite songs but just isn't on the streaming sites so to listen to it I put a ripped CD on iTunes.
I prefer Spotify for everything else though, I mostly listen to the "[artist] Radio" playlists and the Apple versions just aren't as good.
It works well on a Mac - just drag the files over and they’re automatically there on all your devices.
Hello. I have just switched from Spotify to Apple a few weeks ago. Reasons:
- Apple £1/mo cheaper for family plan, and I'm in Apple "ecosystem"
- Spotify "privacy" policy isn't to my tastes
- Apple purported to give a smidge more to artists
- Spotify soured their reputation for me with the Joe Rogan debacle
I miss the Spotify app a little, but that may come down to familiarity. Their algorithm, on one hand, was better at serving me songs I know I like. On the other hand I've discovered more new artists since using Apples pre-curated (i.e. not tailored to me personally) playlists, searching by genre.
- Apple £1/mo cheaper for family plan, and I'm in Apple "ecosystem"
- Spotify "privacy" policy isn't to my tastes
- Apple purported to give a smidge more to artists
- Spotify soured their reputation for me with the Joe Rogan debacle
I miss the Spotify app a little, but that may come down to familiarity. Their algorithm, on one hand, was better at serving me songs I know I like. On the other hand I've discovered more new artists since using Apples pre-curated (i.e. not tailored to me personally) playlists, searching by genre.
Still Mulling said:
Hello. I have just switched from Spotify to Apple a few weeks ago. Reasons:
- Apple £1/mo cheaper for family plan, and I'm in Apple "ecosystem"
- Spotify "privacy" policy isn't to my tastes
- Apple purported to give a smidge more to artists
- Spotify soured their reputation for me with the Joe Rogan debacle
I miss the Spotify app a little, but that may come down to familiarity. Their algorithm, on one hand, was better at serving me songs I know I like. On the other hand I've discovered more new artists since using Apples pre-curated (i.e. not tailored to me personally) playlists, searching by genre.
Quite a lot of artists host shows on Apple radio which I suspect they’d be loath to do if they thought they were being shafted on royalties. The artists’ radio shows can also be a good way of discovering new music, Elton John’s show in particular is very good for this. - Apple £1/mo cheaper for family plan, and I'm in Apple "ecosystem"
- Spotify "privacy" policy isn't to my tastes
- Apple purported to give a smidge more to artists
- Spotify soured their reputation for me with the Joe Rogan debacle
I miss the Spotify app a little, but that may come down to familiarity. Their algorithm, on one hand, was better at serving me songs I know I like. On the other hand I've discovered more new artists since using Apples pre-curated (i.e. not tailored to me personally) playlists, searching by genre.
If you haven’t already, I’d recommend grabbing a pair of headphones and giving Dolby Atmos a go - it can be hit and miss, but when done well it sounds remarkable…
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