The Price of Music

            

Music fuels the mind; it offers pleasure; it helps manage our moods, it enhances our workout and distracts us from boredom during a car commute. According to Nielsen’s Music 360 2014 study, we spend big chunks of our time listening to music, more than 25 hours each week, and when it comes to how we’re listening, the story is mostly digital.

            Music moves people of all cultures: Everyone listens to music, but how we listen to music is changing. We individually tune out to our favorite song, as unique as the ear buds or headphones we sport while listening. CDs and cassettes sales have declined. According to the study, Americans streamed 164 billion on-demand tracks across audio and video platforms in 2014, up from 106 billion in 2013, which highlights how the music landscape has changed.

            It’s almost a rite of passage every artist goes through in the modern music industry. The moment he accepts that he will not be able to rely on music sales to sustain his career. That people are not buying music like they used to. And never will again. When a single album is worth approximately $12, it is very rare to see people buy records and CDs anymore, especially after Apple launched the iTunes Store in 2002 and made it easier for people to only buy the song they wanted instead of the whole album. On average, U.S. consumers report spending $109 each year on music. So aside from albums, what other types of music options are consumers spending their money on?

You could scream about streaming and piracy until you’re red in the face while fans and technology ignore the noise and move forward.

            The huge advances in technology have definitely had an effect on the music industry and on music format. On one hand, it has become very easy for audiences to find new music as they can now download songs, stream bands, and watch on-demand videos whenever or wherever they choose. There’s no shortage of apps to help you discover new music. Device limits vary slightly from service-to-service for offline mode, and I will outline what these restrictions are. It is obvious the economies of streaming music is not favorable toward the artists; nevertheless, with audio streaming, the audience has access to millions of songs, from mobile devices and PCs, online and offline, and the companies providing this service are growing daily, as are the features they each offer; therefore, the competition is fierce.

            Some of the most popular apps are Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora, and the new unleashed version, Apple Music. All these apps offer a mix of unlimited streaming of about 30 million songs for about $10 a month. They let you play music offline and offer radio services and playlists if you don't feel like picking something yourself. They stream in relatively high-quality audio, and they probably have some videos for you to watch. So whether you’re working out, partying or relaxing, the right music is always at your fingertips.

            Apple Music launched late last month alongside the iOS 8.4 update. Both formats have their own fans, and most enthusiasts prefer both over MP3. So, from a technical perspective, both Apple Music and Spotify are starting from a strong, although not identical, baseline. But, here’s why Spotify is still better than Apple’s new music streaming service.

Music Library:

They both offer unlimited access for a flat rate (and partly for free). What makes Spotify so great is its deep library of artists and albums, many of which get updated each week with new releases. If there’s a new album you look forward to hearing, Spotify typically has it ready for streaming the day it’s released. It brings a record store right to any smartphone or computer, and features none of the frustrating plastic wrap.We can't browse Apple Music's library today, but Apple says the service will have 30 million songs and nearly match the iTunes Store song selection.

Music Quality:

For just $10 a month, premium subscribers get access to uninterrupted song playback, high-quality audio recordings, mobile access, and the ability to download and listen to their playlists offline. As with all digital media, these two music services use file compression to maximize bandwidth -- so you can stream and download music even over speed-challenged online connections, ideally without gaps or interruptions.

A group of experts at CNET put the two services to test and concluded that ‘overall Spotify sounded slightly better than Apple Music service.’ ‘It's entirely possible there are tracks that sound better on Apple Music than Spotify.’

Radio:

This is one of the categories where Apple is trying to make a big splash. Apple Music will offer Beats 1, an always-live radio station with top-flight DJs who have made their names making and breaking records. Spotify has theme-based playlists, as well as radio stations that are generated based on the music of a single artist.

Special Features:

Spotify currently leads the way in this department -- from getting to see what your friends are jamming to, to easily sharing playlists with them, Spotify's killer features are established and have their hooks in their users. The app's Running feature plays music based on how fast you're moving. If you're going fast, you'll get up-tempo beats, and if you slow down, Spotify will start playing slower songs. Apple Music will feature Connect, a way for artists to publish content directly (and possibly exclusively) to their fans. Apple is frequently praised for its software design, but they have brought nothing especially new to the table for Apple Music’s interface.

Value:

If you don’t want to pay for streaming music and you’re OK with ads, Apple’s insistence on not having a free plan will make this decision for you: you’re staying with Spotify. You'll be able to try Apple Music for free for three months when it launches (Spotify offers a similar 3 months for $1 trial), but after that, you'll need to subscribe. 

            For those who are willing to pay, the number of accounts matters a lot. Apple Music and Spotify are both $10 a month for individual accounts, but Apple has the better price for large families ($15 a month for six accounts vs Spotify’s $30 for five accounts). Couples, paying for a joint account, though, can access Spotify for $15, while Apple has no two-person option. Spotify has plans to take on Apple Music's aggressive group pricing.

            With some users having heavily invested time and energy into their Spotify playlists, which cannot be exported to any other service, Apple may have a tough time getting users to switch to its platform. On the surface, Apple Music looks like a must-buy only for the Apple faithful. Also, Spotify is stronger in social sharing, and we're happy to see videos and podcasts being added to the content mix.