As a music streaming platform, Spotify has maintained its spot in the industry since its inception in 2006. A stellar feature is in its playlist. You get to listen to songs based on playlists created by Spotify or by you. Which streaming platforms contend with Spotify? Here is a list of some of them.
#1. Amazon
- Founded: September 25, 2007
- Headquarters: Seattle, United States
Need to Know
Amazon Music was launched on September 27, 2007. It was a branch of the Amazon company, owned by Jeff Bezos. Amazon group itself started as an online marketplace on July 5, 1994. Amazon Music began as Amazon MP3, only available to customers in the United States. But now, it is available in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Amazon Music offers three music plans: Amazon Music Free, Amazon Music Prime, and Amazon Music Unlimited. While Amazon Music Free gives ad-supported access to thousands of songs, amazon unlimited is ad-free, and you have access to over 60 million songs. Amazon Music Prime is available to AM Prime subscribers. In September 2019, they added Amazon Music HD to provide lossless music quality to their subscribers.
#2. Apple Music
- Founded: June 30, 2015
- Headquarters: Cupertino, California, United States
Need To Know
Apple Music was launched on June 30, 2015, by Apple Inc. Before Apple Music, there were iTunes and iPods to listen to music. Then in May 2014, Apple bought Beats Electronics, and consequently, Beats Music became Apple’s. After the launch of Apple Music, Beats Music was discontinued. Although it came later than Spotify, it has 70 million subscribers worldwide. And it is available in 167 countries.
Apple Music was initially available only on all Apple devices.
It is now available on Android and Samsung devices. It does not have a free plan like Spotify. However, new subscribers have access to a three-month free trial program. Apple Music offers lossless and spatial audio for a smooth listening experience.
#3 Youtube Music
- Founded: November 12, 2015
- Headquarters: San Bruno, California
Need To Know
Youtube Music was launched on November 12, 2015, as Youtube’s music streaming service. Before this, there was Google Play Music. However, on December 3, 2020, GPM was discontinued. Subscribers on GPM can migrate to Youtube Music, retaining their library and playlists. In 2018, after making some updates, YM was relaunched.
With the relaunch, you can search for songs using phrases and descriptions. YM is available to Youtube Premium Subscribers. YM audio quality is pretty low, at 128kbps with a good connection. Google claims to be working on this feature already. There are three plans with YM: the ad-supported version, Youtube Music Premium, and Youtube Premium. You can download any video on Youtube Premium but only music videos with Youtube Music Premium.
#4. SoundCloud
- Founded: August 2017
- Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
Need To Know
Sound cloud was founded in 2007 by Eric Wahlforss and Alexander Ljung. While Eric Wahlforss was an electronic musician, Alexander Ljung was a Sound designer. They aimed at creating a platform where musicians could share their music. Soundcloud is useful for promoting songs by new artists. The comment option allows listeners to drop comments at a specific time during playback.
It is available on iOS and Android devices. The two subscription plans are Soundcloud Premium and Soundcloud Go. There is also the Basic plan where artists can upload songs for up to 3hrs for free. Soundcloud has over 120million tracks and over 150 million users. It is of great value to musicians and podcasters, that being the ultimate reason for its creation.
#5. Pandora
- Founded: January 2000
- Headquarters: Oakland, California
Need To Know:
Pandora was formed in January 2000 by Will Glaser, Jon Kraft, and Tim Westergren. It started as Savage Beast Technologies, a kiosk for music records. But this was when music was moving from analog to digital. Later in 2005, they officially launched Pandora as a freemium internet radio service. Pandora was available in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand but was suspended in Australia and New Zealand On July 31, 2017.
Pandora has up to six plans, with one ad-supported streaming plan. Pandora allows you to create stations based on your preferences. Then it uses the Music Genome Project technology to create playlists for you. Pandora is limited by poor audio quality, complicated on-demand playback, poor user interface, and low royalties.
#6. Deezer Music
- Founded: August 2007
- Headquarters: Paris, Île-de-France, France
Need To Know
Deezer launched in August 2007. It was formerly Blogmusik, created by Daniel Marhely in 2006. Blogmusik was closed due to copyright infringement by SACEM. And after settling to pay copyright holders, it relaunched as Deezer. It was only available in France, but it is now available in over 180countries. They offer music, podcast, and video services on the app and the website.
Deezer Hi-Fi allows you to listen to the music of Hi-res audio quality. It has a free subscription plan as well as a family plan. The family plan gives six family members access to premium music for £17.99 monthly. Users love Deezer for its easy-to-navigate interface. Deezer also creates playlists based on your music listening history.
#7. Napster
- Founded: June 1, 1999
- Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, United States
Need To Know:
Napster was formed on June 1, 1999. It started as an idea of John Fanning, Sean Parker, and Shawn Fanning. At the time, it was software where you could share files, especially MP3 files. It became so popular that it had about 80 million users. Napster had to stop functioning in 2001 because of copyright and piracy issues. Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) filed a suit against them. Roxio media company who owned Pressplay music store bought Napster in 2002. This purchase helped to revive Napster. Since 2011, Rhapsody acquired Napster, and they control it to date.
Napster had two subscription plans: premier and family plan. With each subscription plan, you enjoy a 30-days free trial. Napster is available in 34countries and is looking to more countries. Napster comes close to Spotify in the aspect of large subscribers. But unlike Spotify, it doesn’t have an ad-supported version. Its audio quality is manageable, up to 192kbps with a strong internet connection.
#8. Tidal
- Founded: October 28, 2014
- Headquarters: New York
Need To Know
Tidal began operation in 2014 by Norwegian company Aspiro. In January 2015, Project Panther Bidco bought Aspiro. Though WiMP was formed in 2010 by Aspiro, it became one with Tidal in April 2015. Project Panther Bidco is controlled by Jay Z. His influence has made certain artists like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West become stakeholders with Tidal.
With Tidal, you become one of the first users to access exclusive music from its shareholders earlier. Tidal offers lossless audio quality on all its subscription plans and Sony 360 Audio and Dolby Atmos Music on the Tidal Hi-fi plus plan. On November 17, 2021, Tidal launched the free plan available in the US only.
#9. Bandcamp
- Founded: September 16, 2008
- Headquarters: Oakland, California
Need To Know
Bandcamp was founded on September 16, 2008, by Ethan Diamond, Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt, and Neal Tucker. Their vision was outstanding and straightforward. It was to ensure that artists get fair compensation for their work. As an artist, you upload your music for free, and you set a minimum fee for listeners to purchase or stream your song. They get 15% of users’ purchases. And then, in March 2020, they launched Bandcamp Friday when they would waive off the 15% commission.
Artists can also sell their merchandise on Bandcamp. Whether music or physical products, they receive their payment immediately and not royalties compared to other streaming platforms. As a user, you get to discover underground music. And it’s easy to use. You listen to a song. If you like it, you go ahead to purchase it. Your purchase will make it available to stream for as long as you want. Bandcamp daily is the editorial arm where you can read several articles about music and the artists.
#10. Qobuz
- Founded: 2007
- Headquarters: Paris, France
Need To Know
Qobuz is a French music streaming platform founded in 2007 by Alexandre Leforestier and Yves Riesel. It is available in 18 countries, including the US, UK, Netherlands, and Australia.
While Spotify still offers streaming in MP3 format, Qobuz ditches MP3 in June 2020 to give lossless music quality only. You can get songs in the Hi-Fi CD quality and Hi-res studio quality. And there are about 60 million songs available for you on Qobuz. Qobuz has several subscription plans, with the least being Qobuz Studio Premier at $12.99 per month. Although more expensive than Spotify, it is the price you pay for high-quality sound. A drawback for Qobuz is the poor User Interface. You may find it hard to navigate, especially around searches. But as you get familiar with it, this drawback becomes insignificant. They also have an editorial section where you get to read exclusive content.