Which Music Service?

I have used Spotify as my music provider for the last few years and have opted for the family plan. Every so often I opt for a trial of Apple Music or another provider to compare the difference.

A few days ago I tried Apple Music again to see how it had improved and this is what I thought.

Firstly one of the main reasons I like Spotify is the fact that it is easy to control what is playing on your speakers from within the app and it offers many connection options such as for Airplay or Google Cast. Apple Music however does not, apart from Airplay. It also makes it harder than Spotify to control what is playing on a HomePod by asking you to click a notification that comes up on an iPhone. Spotify however automatically recognises if your playing music from your account on another device, like a speaker, and auto connects to that device so you can fully control it. Spotify also recently allowed you to join a group sessions with your friends and family which although is still a bit flaky, has the potential to be extremely beneficial for playing music that everyone likes for a long car journey or a party.

Secondly Spotify is great at suggesting new content for you to listen to and also is able to keep playing songs you might like. Apple Music is able to create mixes for you based on songs you regularly play which Spotify does as well, but it seems unable to automatically keep playing music that you might like after a chosen song comes to the end. This is an annoying feature not to have once you’ve been used to it.

Main Points:

• Spotify is better at controlling your Wi-Fi connected speakers

• Spotify is able to keep playing music on auto after a chosen song

• Apple Music and Spotify can both create mixes based off your music tastes

• Spotify cannot be controlled by Siri on HomePod

• Sonos Voice cannot control Spotify on their speakers

• Spotify allows friends to join a music session and control the tunes together