With the recent controversy surrounding Spotify. From suppressing free speech to supporting controversial content by podcast host Joe Rogan. Who’s notorious for spreading Covid-19 misinformation, racist & offensive rhetoric.
CEO Daniel Ek attempted to cover Spotify’s blunder by pleading $100 million to develop and market content from historically marginalized groups.
But the step by many has been seen as misguided and coincidentally matches the amount Ek offered to Joe Rogan to join its platform back in 2020.
The move has caused multiple artists and podcast personalities to pull content from Spotify’s platform.
So with all this happening is Spotify still the platform for you? And if not? What are the viable options available?
Our team has selected 5 possible alternatives we think have the potential to fill the music streaming void uninstalling Spotify will create.
Probably the closest alternative to the little green app. Deezer has over 90 million songs and a similar user interface. Suggested artists and track algorithms work in a similar way to Spotify. So no surprises here.
Playlists made by the best music curators from around the world, create your bespoke soundtrack – not bad for FREE (with the odd ad).
The shuffle play is frustrating and serves its purpose by trying to encourage upgraded profiles. Key features of the music library and offline mode are totally worth it.
| Streaming Platform | Free Plan | Individual Pricing | Family Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deezer | Yes | £11.99/month | £17.99/month |
Overall Deezer is the complete package and is the closest streaming platform to Spotify in terms of usage and capability. Its platform provides exceptional audio quality sound compared to Spotify’s max 320 kbps output.
Local radio support is available on Deezer if you’re a fan of hyper-local content. Well worth your consideration, if dumping Spotify is on your agenda.
Norwegian-Swedish tech company Aspiro created Tidal after merging with its sister-owned company WiMP debuting in the US, Canada, & UK back in 2014. In 2015 a company owned by legendary rapper Jay-Z acquired Tidal accelerating growth in several other European regions.
In March 2021, Jay-Z and several of Tidal’s artist owners sold their majority stake to Square Inc.
With Jay-Z owning Tidal between 2015 – 2021, inevitability audio quality is one of the platform’s main selling points. Boasting the best playback quality of any of its competitors. With the Hifi & Masters modes ranging from 1,411 kbps to 9,216 kbps playback rates. Tidal is the number one choice amongst serious music aficionados.
Compared to Spotify, Tidal has far fewer musical genres to choose from, with only 20. However, Hip Hop fans will be in their element, with the most comprehensive selection of any streaming platform. Jay-Z had a serious role to play here.
Tidal also offers a sizable video collection containing music videos, talk shows, interviews & documentaries. Tidal even provides virtual reality concerts to its subscribers via Oculus VR technology. Depending on consumer uptake of the technology. This could be a real game-changer.
| Streaming Platform | Free Plan | Individual Pricing | Family Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tidal Premium | No | £9.99/month | £14.99/month |
| Tidal HiFi Plus | No | £19.99/month | £29.99/month |
Overall, Tidal is a real contender, but only for a specific type of music fan. If Hip-Hop isn’t your bag, the limited range Tidal has to offer might not be for you.
Launched in 2007 Amazon MP3 as it was called then. Created one of the first digital music download stores. Pioneering mp3 and revolutionising consumer behaviour monetising the process. Fast forward to 2022 and Amazon has over 75 million songs and near 60 million subscribers across its streaming platform.
One of Amazon Music’s major plus points compared to Spotify is its superior sound quality. Its Ultra HD setting delivers incredible “better than CD-quality audio” sound with a whooping 3730 kbps.
Another plus is the fact Amazon Music offers a freemium option allowing users to enjoy the platform without the monthly commitment.
On the negative side, however, Amazon Music clearly leans more towards ‘popular’ content. Compared to Spotify you’ll find far fewer categories. Amazon Music does have more independent/niche music available you just need to know where to find it.
What Amazon Music lacks in terms of musical diversity it makes up for with additional content. Livestreams with unique integration with Twitch adds another dimension for fans.
| Streaming Platform | Free Plan | Individual Pricing | Family Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Music Unlimited | Yes | Prime members: £7.99/month Non-Prime customers: £9.99/month | £14.99/month |
Overall Amazon Music is a great alternative, but if you’re a music connoisseur, or like your music a bit less generic. This isn’t the platform for you.
Created to supersede Apple’s dated and bug-riddled iTunes. Apple Music’s creation coincided with the company’s acquisition of Beats, in 2014. The Beats team was instrumental in pioneering the development of the new app, launching as Apple Music in 2015.
Apple Music’s coverage is vast, with the app available in over 168 countries to date. With an estimated 98 million subscribers.
Similar to the other Spotify alternatives on this list, Apple Music offers superior audio quality. With up to 24-bit/192 kHz and the all-new spatial audio in collaboration with Dolby Atmos. This makes Apple Music super competitive amongst the Spotify alternatives.
Another plus for Apple Music’s platform is its impressive content curation. With its vast array of genres and mood-provoking playlists to choose from. It thoroughly puts Spotify in the shade, in terms, of musical diversity and content engagement. A double thumbs-up to the Apple Music team here.
Any good music streaming platform worth it’s mustard must have a decent music discovery algorithm. Without you’re likely to lose user engagement which is a huge problem in a competitive market.
This is unfortunately where Apple Music drops the ball compared to Spotify. I won’t bore you to tears with the details, but Spotify algorithm is more complex and as such delivers better results.
| Streaming Platform | Free Plan | Individual Pricing | Family Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Music | No | £9.99/month | £14.99/month |
Apple Music is a serious alternative to Spotify. Its content creation, superior audio quality & smart features make comparisons between the two platforms extremely difficult. In short, it comes down to personal preference. That said if finding new music is a must for you? Spotify just has the upper hand and could sway your decision.
The future of music streaming for a new generation. Myx is a streaming and NFT platform using blockchain technology to give power back to artists and creators.
As a Spotify alternative, it’s not based on the same mainstream concepts, and as such, this alternative is here to give you a sense of the next iteration of music streaming.
The other Spotify alternatives listed all showcase features, audio quality, and subscriber base. But, what it doesn’t do, is highlight how the artists benefit from the streaming platform. Often artists don’t get to see the benefits of their work Myx aims to resolve this.
Below is an example of the number of streams artists required to earn $1,000.
| Platform | Pay per stream | Streams to get $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Tidal | $0.12 | 8,333 |
| Apple Music | $0.01 | 100,000 |
| Amazon Music | $0.004 | 250,000 |
| Spotify | $0.0033 | 303,030 |
| Deezer | $0.0011 | 909,091 |
What you can see from the table above, it’s incredibly difficult to generate revenue without thousands of streams. Myx aims to bridge the gap between both artists and fans. Allowing for creation, collaboration, and connection in a new way.
Myx is currently available in the soft launch phase – allowing artists ownership of their music, distribution ownership, and revenues.
Decentralised streaming on Myx allows artists to earn up to three times as much as Spotify from streaming their music, with uncapped revenue potential.
Streaming on Myx is due for launch in the second quarter of 2022.
Myx isn’t a direct Spotify comparison today, but in the future, as we level the playing field and allow artists and creators to earn fairly. Myx will be at the forefront of the music streaming revolution.
For early access, please click on this link.
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