The service appeals most to those entrenched in the Apple ecosystem looking for deep integration and exclusive content from their favourite artists. The human-touch playlists and radio stations make discovering new iOS-focused music simple.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music launched in 2015, but has vastly improved since 2018 when Google consolidated its music streaming services.
Key features of YouTube Music include:
– Over 80 million official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio plus YouTube’s catalog of remixes, live performances, deep cuts and music videos.
– Personalized home screen with recommendations based on listening history and interactions with YouTube (likes, dislikes, subscriptions, etc.)
– Smart search that finds songs even if you only know some lyrics.
– Ad-supported free tier or YouTube Music Premium for $9.99 per month that enables offline listening, background play and downloading.
YouTube Music appeals to fans of remixes, covers and live music since it taps into YouTube’s endless collection along with official releases. The deep Google integration allows you to easily discover new music based on past listening behavior.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music comes automatically with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited can be added to a Prime account for $7.99 per month. Music Unlimited costs $9.99 per month for non-Prime members.
Other Amazon Music features:
– Over 90 million songs available across a wide variety of genres.
– Personalized recommendations help you discover new music, playlists or radio stations.
– Download music for offline listening across mobile, desktop and Fire TV.
– Podcast support with top shows available ad-free.
– Family Plan supports up to 6 users for $14.99 per month. Single device plan for $3.99 per month.
– Alexa built-in allows hands-free listening, music requests, and controls on Echo devices.
Amazon Music best suits Amazon Prime members who want a music streaming service conveniently linked to their existing Amazon account and services. The capability to listen across Amazon Fire TV and Echo devices makes it ideal for households equipped with Alexa.
Pandora
Pandora launched in 2000 as one of the first internet radio services. While on-demand music was later added, the service still hangs its hat on instantly streaming stations based on favorite songs or artists.
Some Pandora’s most popular features:
– Ability to create over 100 personalized radio stations from favorite songs, artists or genres. The Music Genome Project powers the ability to analyze songs based on hundreds of attributes to enable the best recommendations.
– Choose from over 30 readymade genre stations ranging from decades like 80s and 90s Pop to activities like cooking and working out.
– Download up to four sponsored stations for offline listening. No offline listening for on-demand songs.
– Podcast support lets you stream top podcasts without any ads.
– Free ad-supported tier along with Pandora Plus for $4.99 per month and Pandora Premium for $9.99 per month that adds features like unlimited skips, replays, offline listening and higher quality audio.
Pandora shines thanks to the seamless streaming stations that require little effort to enjoy. The ability to quickly create personalized radio makes it easy to soundtrack activities or discover music similar to favorite songs and artists.
Tidal
Tidal markets itself as delivering the highest sound quality among streaming services along with a focus on highlighting artists.
Additional Tidal features include:
– Over 70 million lossless quality songs with select tracks in 360 Reality Audio or Dolby Atmos. Streams are often at higher bitrates than competitors.
– Excellent editorial content including interviews, exclusive concerts, videos and playlists all curated by experienced music journalists.
– Support and promotion for artists via higher royalty payouts, artist ownership opportunities and embedding ticket sales into artist pages.
– Starting at $9.99 per month for Premium and $19.99 per month for HiFi with CD-quality lossless audio. Add $5 to each tier for family plans.
Audiophiles seeking the best streaming audio fidelity along with consumers wanting to directly support artists should consider Tidal. The exclusive content and profiles also help music lovers dive deeper into understanding artists.
SiriusXM
SiriusXM differs from most music streamers with its focus on live radio programming via satellite broadcasting.
Standout SiriusXM features include:
– Over 200 channels spanning all genres including rock, pop, country, jazz, classical, hip hop and more. Live performances, talk shows, comedy, news, sports and entertainment channels are also available.
– Streaming option for out of car listening available on all major mobile and connected devices. Listen anywhere feature includes cloud DVR to record shows and replays on demand.
– Commercial-free music stations thanks to subscription funding model.
– Exclusive programming featuring big names including Howard Stern, Kevin Hart, Oprah Winfelt, LL Cool J and more top personalities hosting shows, town halls and performances.
– Plans start at $8.25 per month for streaming essentials, $14.49 per month for most channels via satellite and streaming. Add streaming to satellite for $3.50 per month.
The broad, commercial-free selection of music and entertainment channels along with access to exclusive shows makes SiriusXM a top option for music and talk radio fans. It brings a traditional radio feel into the streaming era.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the best choice depends on individual preferences, whether it’s audio quality, content variety, or integration with other services and devices. With such a diverse range of options available, there’s something for everyone in the world of music streaming.