It's 2023, and Spotify and Apple Music have changed a lot since we last compared them
in 2020.
I've spent the past six months comparing both of these music services, so I'll break down
for you what really differentiates them, and ultimately, I'll tell you which one I think
most people should subscribe to.
First, let's look at Spotify and its advantages.
The first advantage Spotify has over Apple Music is personalization.
Spotify, in general, has a better recommendation algorithm that is able to discern different
listening modes and tastes in a way that Apple Music does not.
Spotify has way more personalized playlists, including Daily Mixes, Discover Mix, Genre,
Decade, and Mood Mixes that are all customized to you and your listening history.
Spotify also has a feature that enhances the playlists you build with new tracks that it
thinks will fit into the playlist.
You can also exclude certain playlists from Spotify's algorithms.
The next advantage Spotify has over Apple Music related to personalization is its new
DJ feature.
"Hey, what's going on?
I'm your DJX.
Hope you're feeling good.
I know what you listen to."
Spotify rolled this feature out in 2023, and it uses an AI voice plus your Spotify listening
history and all of the great recommendation tech Spotify has to give you your own personal
DJ.
It plays the music Spotify knows you like and then reaches back into your music listening
history to play some of your old favorites.
Then it mixes in new music that Spotify thinks you will like.
It's a great tool for background listening throughout the workday.
Now, the next advantage Spotify has over Apple Music is network effects.
Spotify has the largest user base out of any music service, so it's more likely that's
what your friends and family are listening to, which can make sharing music and creating
playlists together much easier.
At the end of the year, you'll get the coveted Spotify Rap, a celebration of the year gone
by that shows you your top artists and the things you listen to.
You can easily share it with friends and family.
It's so popular, in fact, Apple Music copied it and actually gives you a recap at the end
of the year as well.
Note that Apple makes their recap playlist available earlier in the year than Spotify
does.
The next advantage Spotify has over Apple Music is Spotify Connect.
Spotify Connect allows you to control and listen to your music on different types of
devices like computers, phones, smart TVs, speakers, and other devices.
You can use your Spotify app on any device, including the Spotify web player, as a remote
control.
So say you ask Sonos voice control on your Era 100s to play some music.
The big deal with this feature is that after you've done that, you can now control the
music from any device that's linked to your Spotify account.
No other streaming service can match the ubiquity that you get with Spotify Connect because
Spotify is supported on so many different devices.
Apple does have the Now Playing feature that will allow you to control Apple Music playing
through other Apple devices in your home, but this feature only applies to Apple products.
The next advantage Spotify has over Apple Music is its superior Like system, which is
what you use to help train Spotify's recommendation algorithms.
In Spotify, the heart icon is more prominent in its UI to help train the algorithms.
When you like a song, not only is it automatically added to your library, but it's also automatically
added to a Liked Songs playlist, which Apple doesn't have.
In Apple Music, the action of liking a song by giving it a heart and adding it to your
library are separate actions.
The last advantage Spotify has over Apple Music, which I hinted at earlier, is the sheer
number of devices that support Spotify compared to Apple Music.
This includes Amazon speakers, gaming consoles, cars, and many other devices.
So that covers Spotify's advantages.
Now let's look at Apple Music's.
The first advantage of Apple Music is higher-quality music streaming and Dolby Atmos support.
Apple Music has a 75 million-song catalog available in lossless audio at no additional
cost.
Apple uses its own codec, Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), to preserve every single bit
of the original audio file.
It starts at CD quality, which is 16-bit 44.1 kilohertz, and goes up to 24-bit 48 kilohertz.
They also offer high-resolution lossless audio up to 24-bit 192 kilohertz.
However, you'll need a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to experience the highest quality.
Spotify is rumored to finally be launching their Hi-Fi tier support sometime this year,
but there's been no mention of Dolby Atmos support.
The next advantage of Apple Music is iTunes.
iTunes, which dominated the music industry for over a decade, still exists within Apple
Music on Apple's devices.
It allows you to meticulously manage your library and local music.
It offers options like iTunes Match, which allows you to match content you ripped from
CDs and other sources with Apple Music's library of songs.
Once matched, your music becomes available on all your Apple devices.
While Spotify doesn't have a CD ripping feature in their app, there are third-party tools
that make this possible.
However, Spotify lacks a cloud library; you can only upload files for local playback.
Apple Music also allows you to purchase music through iTunes, although not in lossless quality
or with Dolby Atmos support.
Spotify offers no purchasing option at all.
Another advantage of Apple Music is its radio stations.
Unlike most modern music streaming services, where a radio station is an algorithmically
generated playlist, Apple Music's radio feature is actually old-school radio.
It features human-curated music with DJs and hosts.
This includes several stations like Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music
Country.
Each of these stations has several shows, such as the Zane Lowe Show and Rocket Hour,
hosted by Sir Elton John.
These shows provide exclusive interviews and a unique way to discover new artists and music.
Apple Music's next advantage is Apple Music Sing.
This feature automatically removes vocals from supported tracks and makes use of Apple
Music's real-time lyrics feature to provide an on-demand karaoke experience.
Later this year, it will support Continuity Camera, allowing you to see yourself and your
friends on screen as you sing along to your favorite tracks.
Apple Music Sing is an example of how Apple Music benefits from integration within the
Apple ecosystem.
Users can listen to playlists with family and friends, collaborate on playlists, share
music to their car with Apple CarPlay, and control music from their own devices, even
if they don't have an Apple Music subscription.
Apple Music also offers Apple Music Classical, a companion app with a catalog of 5 million
tracks, making it the world's largest classical music catalog according to Apple.
The app includes introductory podcasts that help listeners explore the different eras
and sounds of classical music.
It supports both lossless and high-res audio, as well as Dolby Atmos and spatial audio,
enhancing the classical music listening experience.
Apple Music Classical is another example of Apple Music's simplicity.
Unlike Spotify, which bundles various audio products into a single app, Apple Music keeps
audiobooks, podcasts, and music separate, providing a less cluttered experience.
The last advantage of Apple Music is library management.
Apple Music offers more customization options for managing your library.
You can easily edit song metadata, purchase your own music, and import music from CDs.
Now, let's discuss their similarities.
Both services have native Windows and Mac apps, as well as student plan bundles.
With Spotify, you get Hulu bundled into your subscription in the US, while Apple Music
offers Apple TV+.
Alright, now let's talk recommendations.
For general music listening, if you're fine relying on algorithms, Spotify is definitely
the service I recommend.
However, if you want higher quality music, Dolby Atmos support, Apple Music Classical,
the ability to purchase music, or more finite control over your music library organization,
Apple Music has carved out enough features that truly differentiate it from Spotify.
That'll make it a better choice for a subset of people out there.
So, that's my recommendation.
If you think I got it wrong or you think I got it right, let me know down in the comments.
To see more information about all the products and speakers that you've seen here in this
video, links are down in the description for that.
So, you can learn more about them and consider giving this video a thumbs up if you liked
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For 6 Months Later, I'm Josh Teder.
Thanks for watching.