9 streaming services to keep your music at your fingertips

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A life hacker helps those who are not sure about the right platform to choose the right platform.

1. Spotify

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service, outperforming the competition in many ways. This service is a real music social network: here you can add friends, exchange messages and comment on music news.

Custom playlists are not only available via a direct link, but also displayed in the search, which radically changes the process of discovering new audio recordings. Recommendations are deprived of the verification of computer algorithms, but they acquire the human factor of spontaneity.

Individual subscription to Spotify costs 169 rubles, for two - 219 rubles, family (up to six people) - 269 rubles, student - 85 rubles. Any of the plans includes a free trial period for three months. Subscription will not only open unlimited access to music, but also increase the bitrate to 320 Kbps in OGG Vorbis format.

In this case, the service can be used free of charge. You will have access to the entire music catalog, but with minor inconveniences - periodic advertising inserts, a restriction on skipping tracks and the lack of offline listening.

• Advantages: availability of a free version, high bitrate, lightning-fast work, many additional features.
• Disadvantages: slightly overloaded interface, especially in a desktop application.

2. Apple Music

Apple Music is the world's second most popular music streaming service after Spotify. Has an extensive database of 60 million tracks. The service offers playlists for different moods and author's selections from dozens of foreign and Russian curators (music publications and labels).

Apple Music supports the ability to compose custom playlists that you can share with friends via a link. And the service is also able to recommend suitable music based on the tracks you previously liked.

An individual subscription costing 169 rubles per month provides unlimited access to audio recordings and playlists from curators, and also allows you to listen to tracks offline. The cost of a family subscription is 269 rubles per month (up to six people), and a student subscription is only 75 rubles. The free trial period is three months.

• Advantages: compatibility with the Apple ecosystem without installing additional software, merging with the existing media library, high bitrate (256 Kbps, AAC).
• Disadvantages: not very good work of personal recommendations in the case of rare and specific genres.

3. Google Play Music

"Google Play Music" will cost the same price: an individual subscription costs 159 rubles a month, a family subscription - 239 rubles. You will get unlimited access to the database of songs and the ability to save tracks for offline listening. You can try the service for free for a month.

Google Play Music also offers playlists by mood and creates customized updates based on the tracks you listen to. Song format - 320 Kbps, MP3, which roughly corresponds to 256 Kbps, Apple's AAC.

Advantages: impressive musical base at a low price.

Disadvantages: external unattractiveness and angularity of the interface.

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4. Yandex. Music

Streaming service popular in Russia. Its browser version allows unlimited listening to audio recordings without authorization and at an acceptable bitrate (192 Kbps). Yandex. Music can synchronize with Deezer and transfer playlists from Last.fm, forming recommendations based on songs from there. There is also the possibility of migrating from Apple Music.

The subscription will increase the bitrate of the tracks being played up to 320 Kbps, remove ads and allow you to listen to tracks offline. Yandex. Music offers monthly and annual subscription types, which cost RUB 169 and RUB 1,690, respectively.

The free trial period is one month. In addition, you will receive a discount on taxi, the ability to watch movies and TV series without ads on KinoPoisk, and other Yandex. Plus features.

• Advantages: the ability to listen to music for free if you only use a desktop browser, a convenient recommendation system, the availability of exclusive podcasts.
• Disadvantages: insufficiently user-friendly interface and a large number of advertisements in the browser version.

5. YouTube Music

This streaming service collects all the albums and songs that have ever been uploaded to YouTube by musicians, labels or users themselves. Accordingly, it often happens that today you are listening to your favorite song, and tomorrow it becomes inaccessible, because it was uploaded by a simple listener who did not have rights to it.

There is a lot of music here, even very much. True, the service does not report the exact figure, speaking only of "millions of tracks". In addition to audio recordings, YouTube Music also shows video clips (including unofficial ones) and a bunch of various remixes. The automatic music selection functions are quite good here, and the assortment is varied.

A paid subscription to YouTube Music Premium will remove ads from the application, allow you to save tracks and listen to them offline, as well as play songs in the background or when the screen is off. It can be tested for free for three months, then the price will be 169 rubles per month. In addition, there is a family (up to five people) subscription (269 rubles) and a student (95 rubles).

• Advantages: powerful and smart search, a large number of music tracks and recordings of live concerts in the catalog.
• Disadvantages: not very good sound quality, the presence of unlicensed music in playlists, not the most convenient sorting of the library.

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6. Deezer

Deezer boasts a rich library of over 43 million songs. For those who are often looking for new music, the service will offer the Flow function. She independently selects the tracks that you might like.

Subscribing will significantly increase the bitrate of the songs being played (up to 320 Kbps), turn off ads and open up the ability to listen to tracks offline. The cost of an individual subscription will be 169 rubles per month, family (up to six people) - 255 rubles. The free trial period is three months. There is also a subscription for audiophiles - 369 rubles per month for music in FLAC format.

• Advantages: more than 56 million songs in the library, the presence of copyright music podcasts.
• Disadvantages: not the most convenient desktop client.

Deezer: Deezer Music Music & Podcasts

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7. Tidal

This service is distinguished by the quality of the music: here it is in FLAC / ALAC format, so audiophiles will be happy. Tidal has over 90,000 music videos and 40 million high quality songs in its database.

The service has several subscription levels: Premium and Hi-Fi. The first opens access to music in the 320 Kbps format, AAC (MP3 is significantly inferior to AAC even at the same bitrate). Hi-Fi provides the ability to listen to compositions in FLAC and ALAC format.

Unfortunately, the service is not represented in the Russian segment, and in order to use it, you have to go to the trouble of using a VPN. Using Tidal is expensive, with a Premium account that costs $ 9.99 a month, and the ability to listen to FLAC / ALAC costs $ 19.99. The free trial period is one month.

• Advantages: exclusives from many artists, as well as compositions of the highest quality.
• Disadvantages: high subscription cost, difficulties with use in Russia.

TIDAL Music - Hifi Songs, Playlists, & Videos TIDAL

8. SoundCloud

SoundCloud is not so much a streaming service as it is a social network for music lovers. Musicians upload their creations here, and DJs - remixes. Users then listen to them and discuss them. Also on this service you can find many recordings from little-known indie artists.

As the main music platform, SoundCloud is unlikely to suit you: the library is large here, but it will not always be possible to find popular musicians. And whole discographies are often an exception here. But as an additional source of rare music, the service is great.

The free version of SoundCloud has practically no restrictions, so you can use it without spending a penny. No ads, no track switching. Unless a certain small percentage of songs are not available and there is no offline mode. To get access to all this, you will have to buy a monthly subscription SoundCloud Go ($ 4.99) or Go + ($ 9.99), which is not available in the CIS. Get ready to use proxy and VPN again.

• Advantages: the ability to listen to songs even without registration, no advertising and a large amount of indie music.
• Disadvantages: small library, lack of many popular performers, not very convenient cataloging.

SoundCloud - SoundCloud Music & Sound

SoundCloud - Music and Sound SoundCloud Global Limited & Co KG

9. Jamendo

Everything that has been said about SoundCloud is true for Jamendo as well. It's a similar service where independent artists upload their music. Only there are no premium features, you can listen to audio recordings absolutely free of charge without any restrictions, and you can also download them. Registration for the service to work in a browser is optional.

You won't be able to use Jamendo as your main source of music: the library here is too small (albeit diverse). But it is quite possible to profit from fresh tracks, get acquainted with previously unknown performers or even discover new genres with its help.

• Advantages: free access, no registration, no ads and lots of indie music.
• Disadvantages: too modest library.

Jamendo Music Jamendo Team

Jamendo Jamendo S. A.

This material was first published in April 2017. In July 2020, we updated the text.