How To Choose The Best Music Streaming Service

Music streaming has changed the way we consume music forever. It’s no longer necessary to only pay for the music we already know we want, and we can therefore widen our palates tremendously. I know that since streaming became popular, I’ve listened to far more music than I ever would have, and been exposed to bands that I hadn’t heard of.

But all first-world triumphs come with first-world problems. Now that streaming is so popular, there are a range of streaming music apps to choose from. Most notably, we have a choice between Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and SoundCloud. If you don’t have access in your country, you can get ublocked music with a VPN.

How do you choose between these services? The following guide will help determine what best suits you.

For Apple Integration: Apple Music

Regardless of which music streaming service is better, Apple Music will always be the most intuitive to use on Apple devices. You can access and search it with Siri, continue listening on other Apple devices, and pay for it conveniently as part of your subscriptions.

While Apple Music has some cons, it is a remarkably good service, all things said. You can access just about everything, and there are some well-curated playlists constantly tailored to you.

For Finding New Music: Spotify

However, Apple playlists aren’t quite as good as Spotify’s new music playlists. Spotify isn’t the ideal music app, but it is the ideal service for finding new music. Tell Spotify what you like and it will give you a comprehensive playlist on other artists you will probably love.

If you haven’t tried it yet, you have a lot of music waiting for you. The good news is that you can use it for free if you're simply listening for new music, and can use it in tandem with one of these other services.

For High-Fidelity Streaming: TIDAL

Tidal is best known as the brainchild of Jay-Z, Kanye, and others, and people tend to think of rap music when they hear the name. However, what Tidal is known for is actually its high-fidelity streaming.

You won’t get better sound quality from any other streaming service, and you require a separate app to listen to these music files anyway. Might as well make it Tidal. Remember that unless you're using expensive headphones, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference.

For Musicians: SoundCloud

SoundCloud provides a different kind of streaming service altogether. It is a place to share new music that independent creators and producers have made. If you're a musician, you can do a lot with SoundCloud .

Firstly, it’s the easiest place to share your own music, even if you're just sharing demos with friends or fellow musicians. Secondly, you can hear up-and-coming artists and producers and, importantly, find potential collaborators to work with.

SoundCloud is available for free, with Premium benefits useful for musicians who are regularly publishing music. It has been a stepping-stone for many successful musicians and has brought musicians together with producers, creating communities and projects.