Music and Listening app.: iTunes v. Pandora v. Spotify

After 6+ years my iPhone 7 is on its last legs. I need a new iPhone. Probably go with a 128 iPhone 11. Right now, I am committed to Apple in many ways (computers, phones, etc.) My phone is connected to my son's apple account, because we have all of out iTunes on that account. I just set up my new desk top with a different Apple account that is brand new and has zero tunes. I have heard that buying tunes on iTunes is not the way to go. Some people like Pandora, while others like Spotify, and maybe other music outlets. Then, there are "premium" accounts for each. What can you guys recommend? Why?

Spotify is good. The UX sucks balls, but i pay 10CDN per month and can basically listen to anything. Helps if you are not worried about data and can stream while off wifi.

If you like music, and want to listen to anything you want to listen to, it's Spotify. No question. I held out for a long time using other services. I was a fool.

I like Spotify. Ten bucks a month allows me access to basically a massive record store in the sky. I make playlists at my desk by just dumping stuff that I like into one or two folders, and then I'll make artists playlists when I have the time. All playlists can be downloaded to your phone, and will play without any connection at all. Spotify has also jumped waist deep into the podcast world, but I still use Castbox for that out of habit. Joe Rogan just signed a never have to work again contract with them for exclusive rights.
Their algorithm watches what I like and suggests stuff every week with a long playlist called Discover weekly. I usually find something in there, and go directly to that album or artist to check out more, with a few clicks. I like that a lot. I have discovered a lot of new stuff that way.

Pity the poor artist, though. They don't make much money from this model. But, it's pretty awesome to walk around with earbuds or a speaker and my phone, and I can listen to anything, anytime.

I've been using spotify basically since it first came out. it's got some irritating quirks, like the fact that when it updates, it deletes and redownloads all of the music you've chosen to keep on your phone. If this happens when you dont have a good signal or are near wifi, you can end up with no music to listen to. really fucking annoying when it happens right before you get on a plane. Also, the 10,000 song limit is irritating. Every few months I have to spend a couple hours deleting albums I ended up not listening to, so that I can add new stuff.

That said, overall it's great. It does a way better job than any of the other music apps at suggesting music you'll like. plus you get Hulu with your subscription. I personally prefer the UI to iTunes. I'm currently taking a break from spotify to try out Apple Music for free for 3 months. It's not bad. So far there hasn't been anything I could find on Spotify that I can't find on Apple Music, and I listen to some very, very obscure music. meaning for me, there is music I can't find on any app. but overall it's pretty good. The one thing I like about Apple Music over Spotify is that it's easier to add files to your library that you got from places other than the app itself. i.e. adding stuff you bought on bandcamp that isnt on apple/spotify, etc. If you add bandcamp songs or your personal music etc to Apple Music on your computer, it puts the file on your phone for you, as well.

Anyone listen to Rory Gallagher Radio on Spotify? It is my new go to station to listen to while driving. In addition to a lot of Rory, it played a set that included JJ Cale, Keith Richards, Melvin Taylor, Jimmy Page, Pat Travers, Dire Straits, Link Wray and Love Sculpture.
....Great stuff

Just saw amazon music has 3 free months for sign up then 8.99/month after. Is that a good option? I guess i could try it for the 3 months like above^^.
Has it been decided whats best? Apple v spotify v amazon v others?
Ive never had an online streaming service, i figure its about time

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Been using Spotify for a few years, shopped around about a year ago and stayed put. Their predictive algorithm has brought so many new artists into my ears is why.


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Originally Posted by grinch

Just saw amazon music has 3 free months for sign up then 8.99/month after. Is that a good option? I guess i could try it for the 3 months like above^^.
Has it been decided whats best? Apple v spotify v amazon v others?
Ive never had an online streaming service, i figure its about time

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Big fan of Amazon Music - especially the amount of Ultra HD content.

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Originally Posted by ticketchecker

Been using Spotify for a few years, shopped around about a year ago and stayed put. Their predictive algorithm has brought so many new artists into my ears is why.


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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

Big fan of Amazon Music - especially the amount of Ultra HD content.

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Thank you both. Any drawbacks with either?

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Sound quality is supposed to be better with Apple, Quobuz and that other one I can’t remember the name of. Most of my listening time these days is in the van or through a little bose speaker so can’t say I noticed the difference.


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I had been a long time Spotify user until last year. Realized I could get Apple One for only a few dollars a month more for the family plan. Apple Music is higher quality and we get Apple TV, Arcade, and upgraded iCloud for 6 users. Seemed to be a better deal with no downside so far. Guess I’ve come full circle because the first service I used was MOG which became Beats, and is now Apple Music. The sound quality of Apple is much better than Spotify.

I remember my iphone being a pita. Can i use apple one on an android?

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Live One user here formally known as Slacker and Live X. Works great for $10/month. They have a huge catalog of music available, which along w usability would seem to be a key factor in choosing a service.


Wiki:
LiveXLive/Slacker offers traditional genre, specialty, and artist stations pre-programmed by professional DJs, while also letting users build entire stations of specific artists. Users can continue to develop any of these stations by rating favorite songs and banning artists or songs they dislike. LiveXLive/Slacker also allows subscribers to customize any station to their liking by adjusting settings like: more hits or more depth, more or less of their favorites, and more current or more classic material. The music could also be interspersed with music, sports and ABC News updates, alongside some DJ banter. LiveXLive also offers access to over 40 live-streamed music events a year such as Rock In Rio, Rolling Loud, and iHeart Country.
When a user inputs the name of a specific band or artist, LiveXLive/Slacker will instantly create a station based on that musician along with similar artists. This feature allows users to discover new artists similar to the ones they already like. Users can also create their own stations by inputting artists they like. The rest of the station is automatically populated with similar songs and artists. Pre-programmed themed stations (holidays, music festivals, and artists) are also available.
In July 2010, Slacker added the ABC News station, with an option to include headline news for top-of-the-hour updates on any Slacker Radio station.^[26] In late summer 2011, ESPN channels were also added.
LiveXLive/Slacker allows users to share content via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to share news, features, contests and song updates.

That last part is interesting. Is it possible to add the music to a vid for socials from all of these streamers?

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Ended up getting the amazon music. Ez set up . Works pretty well so far. Put some neil young in straight away because i can. Bumpin all the way to the hill znd back was nice

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Do all these use data? Its been nice skiing withe the amazon music on my $30 bluetooth headphones. Did realize it was going to use so much data though. Should i be downloading my playlists on to my phone to save data? Is that costly? Im such a noob

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Originally Posted by grinch

Do all these use data? Its been nice skiing withe the amazon music on my $30 bluetooth headphones. Did realize it was going to use so much data though. Should i be downloading my playlists on to my phone to save data? Is that costly? Im such a noob

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https://freeyourmusic.com/blog/minim...azon-music-use

HOW MUCH DATA DOES AMAZON MUSIC USE?
It’s a bit more complicated with Amazon Music as they haven’t revealed the standard streaming quality of their service. It might be hard to pin down Amazon Music data usage without the specific bitrate, but we can take an educated guess here. Since Most music streaming services offer quality up to 320 kbps, we expect Amazon Music uses approximately 175MB per hour.

As for the premium tiers, Amazon Music HD offers a bitrate up to 850kbps, while Amazon Ultra HD with a bitrate up to 3,730kbps (which is 10x times higher than most streaming services!). This also means that Amazon Music is going to use more data: 330MB per hour for “HD” and as much as 720MB per hour for “Ultra HD”

Pro tip: Amazon Music gives you the option to reduce data usage when streaming. Simply tap the three dots in the upper-right corner of the app and go to Settings > Streaming Audio Quality. Head to the Mobile Data section and select Data Saver.

With some of your posts over the years implying you have a good relationship with jam bands, if you don't already have the apps for Taper's Section or Live Music Archive, you might want to add them (they are free) - I find myself using them far more than my Spotify account.

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Originally Posted by JimmyCarter

https://freeyourmusic.com/blog/minim...azon-music-use

HOW MUCH DATA DOES AMAZON MUSIC USE?
It’s a bit more complicated with Amazon Music as they haven’t revealed the standard streaming quality of their service. It might be hard to pin down Amazon Music data usage without the specific bitrate, but we can take an educated guess here. Since Most music streaming services offer quality up to 320 kbps, we expect Amazon Music uses approximately 175MB per hour.

As for the premium tiers, Amazon Music HD offers a bitrate up to 850kbps, while Amazon Ultra HD with a bitrate up to 3,730kbps (which is 10x times higher than most streaming services!). This also means that Amazon Music is going to use more data: 330MB per hour for “HD” and as much as 720MB per hour for “Ultra HD”

Pro tip: Amazon Music gives you the option to reduce data usage when streaming. Simply tap the three dots in the upper-right corner of the app and go to Settings > Streaming Audio Quality. Head to the Mobile Data section and select Data Saver.

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Wow good one. That seems like the easiest solution. Ill try that "date saver" option. I was only on the regular setting. I guess i used it 10-15 ski days and burned almost 2 gb's. I think ill still add some more data to my plan. Its nice to have. Save it on the drive back and forth to the hill.
Thanks for the tip. Def pro compared to me

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You can also download to your device on the Amazon Music app.

If you're worried about phone data just do that when you're on Wi-Fi.

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

You can also download to your device on the Amazon Music app.

If you're worried about phone data just do that when you're on Wi-Fi.

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Thanks, i was wondering that. Is there a charge/song?

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