I listen to music all the time. When I work, when I run and when I commute. Earphones are always plugged in and music is playing. Since Spotify came into my life, I fell in love with the freedom it offered. I felt like I was in a music shop each and every day. I could choose whichever song I wanted to hear, whenever I wanted. Fast forward to July this year and Apple has released its own streaming music service aptly named Apple Music. I’ve spent a few weeks using it and is it enough to convince me to jump from the Spotify ship? Read on to find out.
Apple Music is ALIVE
Starting iTunes up, I land on the For You tab. It seems like Apple have picked out a whole host of music that it believes I would be interested in. Scrolling through this page, it seems fairly random the artists I’m presented with and there doesn’t seem to be any structure either. Clicking on an artist brings you to a playlist and the music starts. You can ‘heart’ songs which in theory should improve the algorithm that Apple uses to recommend music to you.
User Interface
I’ve never been a fan of iTunes. The user interface is always changing and forever confusing. Why is this relevant? Well, iTunes is how you access Apple Music. iTunes seems like a bunch of independent applications glued together. The iTunes Store sells you stuff. Connect is like Twitter, but not really…It feels like Twitter without any users. New, For Youand the search bar are the entry points to Apple Music. Each time you use one of those sections it really does feel isolated from the rest of the application. It is usable, but not at all friendly.
Playlists
One of the things I love about Spotify is the playlists. You can find playlists for every occasion; Evening Commute, House Party and Afternoon Acoustic, just to name a few. This is a great way to discover new music. Apple does have the same concept, however there don’t seem to be as many playlists available as Spotify. Also there doesn’t seem to be as many songs in each playlist as what Spotify offers (about 25 on average). Of course I imagine over time these things will change and Apple will bridge the gap.
Now how much does this cost?
Apple Music has a 3 month trial so you can take it for a spin for free. Then it costs $11.99 AUD per month or $17.99 per month with family members. That’s the same as Spotify really, however technically, Spotify does cost more per month once you start adding multiple family members.
Still the same thing
Fundamentally, Apple Music allows you to achieve exactly the same thing as Spotify. It’s user interface isn’t as friendly and it doesn’t seem to allow you to discover new music as easily. However at its core, its the same product. It allows you to stream whatever music you want. If you’re already a happy paying Spotify customer then there is no reason to churn. Otherwise going with either product will get you the same outcome. Unless of course you’re a Taylor Swift fan then your only option is to shake it off with Apple!