The Digital Music Battle
All music is not created equal – and neither are digital music platforms. Do you know the differences? You should. Kamikaze has the details.
Everyone is always asking…
What digital music library is better and which one has the best features. We’re going to compare Spotify, iTunes, and Pandora. This will make it a little easier for you to decide for yourself.
Spotify
Spotify is a free to use service with no credit card required if you don’t mind listening to advertisements between songs. They have millions of songs you can listen to. Right now, you can subscribe to Spotify Premium for 3 months for only $0.99 (and $9.99 per month after that). Spotify offers everything their competitors provide but with a couple of added bonuses. You can access user created playlists along with podcasts, video content and radio stations. When you create a playlist you can also invite friends to listen to them. The best thing is if you don’t have service or WiFi you can still listen to your music if you save it to your device beforehand.
Spotify’s most Played Song:
Spotify facts:
- Active Listeners: 191 million
- Created playlists daily: 5 million
- Largest group of listeners: 18-26 years old
- Percentage of users on mobile: 52%
- Percentage that link Facebook: 55%
Website:
Apple iTunes
Apple iTunes without a subscription is very bare and only allows you to listen to 15-second clips of the song you would like to purchase. However, it does have a 3-month free trial to the service and $9.99 after it ends. Just like it’s competitors it has millions of songs to listen to. One of the best features it does provide is the ability to ask Siri to play a song. It also works with popular apps which integrate with Nike and Shazam.
iTunes most played song:
iTunes facts:
- Active listeners: 36 million
- Number of playlists: 5,000
- Largest group of users: 18-25 years old
- Percentage of users on mobile: 75%
- iCloud storage: 100,000 songs
Website:
Pandora
Pandora is also free to use service if you don’t mind the advertisements. This service is an internet radio with the option to skip and replay tracks. It has a 60-day free trial and costs $9.99 per month after it ends. When you sign up for Pandora, you get a playlist that learns and grows from the songs that you listen to. Many people have been using this service for years and collected a lot of information using their Music Genome Project. This Project collects information about what you like and dislike.
Pandora’s most played song:
Pandora facts:
- Active listeners: 68.8 million
- Number of stations created: 10 billion
- Largest group of listeners: 35-44 years old
- Percentage of listeners on mobile: 91%
- Number of cars types that include Pandora’s built-in service: 190
Website:
Conclusion
All of these music services provide a way to listen to all of your favorite music. The first tier packages of these services cost the same. Where it starts to differ is their family services. Family accounts let a number of users share the service. All the user interfaces are simple enough to use with easy navigation through menus.