Best music streaming platforms?

Total newbie question here. What’s actually the deal with the difference between iTunes and Apple Music? From what I can tell, they seem to be two completely separate apps, yet you can basically listen to your music through either one... If I'm reading this right, why on earth would a single company bother having two different applications for the same thing?

Cash.

Just YouTube.

I don't want to be subscribed to anything in my life—especially not paying extra to some corporate vultures for stuff I don't even physically own.

Dennis Hall41 said:Just YouTube.

I refuse to be subscribed to anything in this life. Especially I'm not paying some corporate vultures a monthly fee just to access stuff I don't even physically own.

You can use Spotify without being in love with it and they aren't annoying with ads😉

It feels like YouTube just keeps getting worse by the day, honestly. I’ve never really been one to use it as a primary music player anyway, but now you can’t even sit through a simple ten-minute phone review without some obnoxious ad cutting right in the middle of your thought.

Luckily, I found a workaround using Vanced on my phone and Smart YouTube on my Firestick, which pretty much solves those headaches for me.

As for actual music, Spotify has basically been my best friend for nearly two years now. Ever since I made the switch, my computer's hard drive feels about 500 GB lighter because I'm not hoarding local files anymore.

I usually just stick to YouTube when I'm in one of those work modes, but if I switch over to Spotify, it's mostly just classical music 🙏

Samuel Ruiz75 said:YouTube just gets worse by the day—total trash! I never used it for music anyway, but now you can't even watch a quick 10-minute phone review without some annoying ad popping up.

honestly, just grab an adblocker and the ads are gone forever—easy peasy

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...hmhepckk?hl=en

Honestly, it’s just not worth the hassle for me when I'm using my phone or watching TV, and I barely even bother with it on my computer anyway. Because of that, I ended up finding much better workarounds through other apps instead.

Look, don't be cheap and just shell out those $13 a month for unlimited music access... it’s honestly the least we can do to support the artists we love, especially nowadays when streaming is pretty much everything we have left, since nobody's really buying physical albums anymore anyway☕

I only really use YouTube to watch music videos, live concerts, interviews, documentaries, and stuff like that.

If you just want to listen to music, the platform is honestly terrible—even if you actually bother to pay for Premium.

Personally, I’m a total audiophile, so I’m currently paying for both Spotify and Pandora, though I'm actually working on getting Pandora sorted out right now because I keep it strictly for that high-quality stream option.

Since nobody really buys physical albums anymore, I figure paying for streaming services is totally worth it.

quietbison86 said:I only ever use YouTube to watch music videos, live concerts, interviews, documentaries, and things of that nature.

As far as actually listening to music goes, the platform is quite poor, even if you opt for the Premium version...

I suppose I’m a bit of an audiophile; I currently pay for both Spotify and Pandora, though I am in the process of phasing out Pandora. I keep it strictly for the streaming functionality...

Since people don't really buy physical media much anymore, paying for these streaming services seems like the only logical way to go.

I'm currently on a Pandora premium plan but I'm planning to switch over to Spotify. I was wondering if, once I cancel my Pandora premium subscription, I can still continue to use the service at all...

Ryan Doyle43 said:In the US, digital music subscriber numbers have hit 160,000—with Oliver leading the streaming charts, followed closely by Madonna and Vojko V.

https://www.nytimes.com/culture...ojko-v-1068398

Pretty solid numbers, honestly—especially since the culture of buying physical or digital music was never really a big thing here in America.
I wasn't even expecting 50k.

It looks like Americans have relatively said "yes" to streaming. Which makes sense—it’s incredibly accessible (everything is roughly around $17), and the catalog is massive. It’s very rare that I’ve searched for something and actually couldn't find it.

Plus, we all have internet access now—whether it's home Wi-Fi or mobile data. In fact, I know people who don't even bother with home internet; they just use a flat-rate mobile plan to hotspot 🤣 and connect all their devices at home.

So, having reliable, affordable flat-rate internet paired with cheap streaming is a winning combination.

Gary Patel said:Those numbers are actually pretty solid—considering the culture of buying physical or digital music was never really a thing here in the States.
I wasn't even expecting 50k.

It looks like Americans have relatively said "yes" to streaming. Which makes sense since it's basically super affordable (everything is roughly $17), and the catalog is massive. It’s honestly rare that I look for something and can't find it.

Plus, everyone has internet now. Whether it's home Wi-Fi or mobile data. I even know people who don't even bother with home internet—they just use a mobile data plan and hotspot🤣 everything at home.

So, having cheap, accessible unlimited data paired with low-cost streaming is a killer combo.

It goes without saying that being unable to tour—combined with the pathetic earnings 99.9% of musicians make from sales—is a total joke in modern music. I don't care who says what, but production quality is just tanking year after year. We're living in this total technocratic paradise where, in 10 years, we'll probably be listening to ringtones programmed by Bezos AI. Honestly? I actually respect anyone who didn't ditch their guitar in 2020 to go grab a corporate desk job.

Look, the future of music is definitely in flux—but then again, music has always been evolving.

We went from listening to live music at town fairs to tuning into the radio.

Then radio gave way to television, and television eventually became YouTube—and now, YouTube streaming.

Vinyl was replaced by cassettes, cassettes by CDs, CDs by digital downloads, and digital sales by streaming.

Even concerts are starting to feel like they might become a thing of the past—or at least, we're seeing plenty of alternatives during this pandemic era.

Concerts will never truly die, just like movies won't, but if you had told me a few years ago that I’d be paying $15 to watch Dua Lipa via a livestream, I would have laughed right in your face.

Still, when she had that Studio 2054 set, I paid up—it was the closest thing to being there in person.

The industry shifts, and both artists and fans just adapt.

For the true audiophiles out there, I suspect CDs and other physical formats will remain the only acceptable way to experience music.

As for me? Streaming is perfectly fine. Especially when paired with a solid set of headphones (like the WH-1000XM4)—it's a great experience.

Honestly, we should be glad that legal music streaming is a totally viable option in America today, rather than some kind of joke where people ask, "Why would I pay $33 for an album when I can just download it and burn it to a CD?"😁

Personally, downloading music illegally feels less like being thrifty and more like just being lazy. Believe me, if I could just download files, organize them, and transfer them to my phone without effort—when for $17 I can access a massive catalog in just two clicks (or zero clicks if I use Google Assistant)—I wouldn't bother.

I’m telling you—music quality is tanking. Denying it is like saying service at the DMV won't go downhill if you cut their pay by 30%.

I’m on Spotify—no Premium though—and I’ve got YouTube Premium !! Honestly, that second one is top tier.

rustypanther13 said:I'm currently on Pandora (premium) and I'm thinking about switching over to Spotify. I was wondering—if I cancel my premium subscription on Pandora, can I still keep using the app?

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but I'm planning to by the end of the month because this subscription is getting way too expensive for me

I'll let you know how it goes—I'm pretty sure you can just stick with the free version and deal with the ads, right?

How do I switch Spotify back to English?

Honestly, one of the main reasons I even liked it more than Pandora was the interface—so why on earth did it just switch itself over to American without me even asking? 🤔

It’s most likely because your phone’s system language is set to American English settings by default.

Personally, I keep everything on English—which means my Spotify stays in English too—mostly because I find myself getting a bit lost navigating my phone if the interface isn't in a language I'm totally comfortable with.

Edit: just like I mentioned earlier,

https://support.spotify.com/us/article/change-language/

I mentioned I’m on Spotify, but honestly, I still use regular YouTube too. I mostly use YouTube for the commercials 😬, while Spotify is where I go for all that music "nobody" actually listens to. Right now, I've been deep in the early medieval and Renaissance stuff. Every so often, you'll find some niche ensemble that has an album uploaded to YouTube, but you won't find a trace of it on Spotify.
Maybe that’s just how it works when you're digging into stuff that isn't exactly mainstream.