Music streaming has become one of the most popular ways for people to listen to tunes these days. Giants like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music dominate the landscape with their vast catalogs and smooth interfaces. However, beyond these heavyweight services lie some underrated and relatively unknown options that audiophiles should check out. In this post, we’ll explore three such streaming platforms – Audify Music Player, BandLab, and TIDAL Music. uncovering some hidden gems among music streamers.
Audify Music Player – For Local and Online Music
While most streaming platforms focus solely on their online catalogs, Audify Music Player brings the best of both worlds. This Android music player allows you to stream from various online sources while also managing and playing local audio files.
Audify connects to several music streaming services including Spotify, YouTube Music, SoundCloud Go+, TIDAL, Napster, and more. You can easily switch between these sources from within the app itself. This means you don’t need to install each streaming app separately. Additionally, features like gapless playback, crossfade, equalizer, tag editor, widgets, Chromecast support, and auto downloads are offered.
Besides streaming, Audify provides a neatly designed local music player. It automatically scans and indexes audio files on your phone and SD card. You can browse through songs by folder or view them organized into playlists, albums, artists, and genres. Personalized recommendations are also provided based on your listening patterns.
Other useful features include a tag editor, sleep timer, widgets, multiple themes, driving mode, and Google Cast support. With its support for both streaming and local playback combined with powerful features, Audify Music Player makes for an excellent pick.
BandLab – Social Music Creation and Sharing
BandLab is a multifaceted free music service with a heavy emphasis on content creation. At its core lies an advanced cloud-based DAW (digital audio workstation) that enables creating, editing, and publishing music online. If you want to lay down some tracks or mix a song without complex desktop software, BandLab has you covered.
The browser-based mixer provides effects like reverb, delay, distortion, compressor, and more to craft professional sounding tracks. You can record vocals and instruments, create beats, synth lines, edit MIDI, and arrange everything into complete songs online. Unlimited storage and hosting are offered for your creations.
Beyond music making, BandLab really shines as a social network for musicians. You can follow other creators, share your tracks, get feedback, collaborate on projects, and even remix other people’s creations. An integrated mastering system makes sure everything you publish sounds top-notch. This combination of music creation and community makes BandLab a great platform for artistic collaboration.
For music listeners, BandLab offers a streaming service with a catalog of original creations by artists worldwide. Discovering talented unsigned musicians is easy thanks to its social features and profiles. BandLab might not have the most mainstream hits, but it makes up for that with a treasure trove of unique creations.
TIDAL Music – Lossless Audio Quality
If music quality is your top priority, check out TIDAL. This streaming service by rap mogul Jay-Z stands out by offering lossless CD-quality audio across its entire catalog. TIDAL streams music in the FLAC format that preserves every detail without any quality loss. This results in richer sound that audiophiles will certainly appreciate.
Besides lossless audio up to 1411kbps bitrate, TIDAL provides high-fidelity videos and 360 Reality Audio for an immersive experience. Curated editorial content like interviews, playlists, and documentaries give more insight into artists. TIDAL may have a smaller library than Spotify or Apple Music, but it counters that with exclusive content and early releases.
Pricing plans for TIDAL include a standard Premium tier at $9.99 per month and a HiFi Plus lossless audio tier at $19.99 per month. Discounts are offered for annual subscriptions that lower effective monthly costs. Students get 50% off while military personnel, first responders, and families can receive discounted memberships too. Ultimately, TIDAL proves to be worth the premium for hardcore music listeners.
Conclusion
Streaming giants keep getting bigger, but they don’t cater to all listeners. Audify Music Player, BandLab, and TIDAL Music fill specific niches for local playback, music creation, and lossless quality respectively. Music lovers who want more control, uniqueness, and fidelity ought to try out these underrated platforms. Which one will you be checking out first? Let us know in the comments!