Spotify boasts tailored tunes for music discovery
Let’s leave Apple to their own devices—Spotify is the future of streaming.
With curated recommendations and auto-generated playlists, Spotify is the ultimate streaming platform for those interested in broadening their musical palate.
Spotify’s recommended algorithm has only gotten better with time. The “daylist” function, which always come with strange titles such as “Indie sunshine crunchy Monday afternoon,” arranges tracks in genres you listen to at certain times, mixing old favourites with new discoveries.
The platform also has an AI DJ to take you through different listening vibes back-to-back, first with past favourites, then songs you’ve been getting into recently.
To add to the experience, after listening to a song on Spotify, it fades into the next, whereas Apple Music abruptly switches. Spotify also offers a larger selection of podcasts and audiobooks in the app, unlike Apple Music, where you must a separate podcast app to access this feature.
You can also make playlists with friends that will combine songs you both listen to or might like, creating something you can both enjoy—perfect for cooking together, getting ready, or long drives. This is especially helpful in a house of girls with different tastes in music. With Spotify, we can always find something to agree on.
Because Spotify has a larger base, there’s a culture of sharing your playlists and stalking your friend’s music profiles. This can be a great way to get to know a new friend and find more playlists to enjoy.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the largest cultural elements of Spotify, the famous Spotify Wrapped. Each year I listen to my favourite songs from the previous year, in anticipation of Spotify revealing how my tastes have changed. Though Apple Music has a similar function, it pales in comparison to the excitement of revealing your wrapped.
There’s a reason people switched over from iTunes to Spotify—the listing experience simply isn’t the same. If you’ve ever been on aux in a car full of people you don’t know well, you’ll be thankful for Spotify’s auto-generated playlists, rather than Apple Music throwing on a song you ed in 2013.
Overall, Spotify boasts a superior algorithm and accessible interface, making it the ideal choice for music lovers everywhere.
—Cloey Aconley, Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
Apple Music champions artists and listeners
You don’t need all the bells and whistles to enjoy your favourite music.
If you’re ionate about ing the arts, Apple Music pays higher royalties to artists, averaging around $0.01 per stream, compared to Spotify’s $0.003 per stream. It may not seem like much, but these differences add up over thousands of streams. Spotify might have a larger culture of sharing music, but Apple Music’s comparatively smaller base allows them to pay artists more for their work.
Though Spotify might have more efficient algorithms for curating playlists, Apple Music s a more traditional form of listening. I find with Apple Music I’m more likely to listen to music in an album, rather than a playlist. This encourages deep diving into music and exploring the discography of your favourite artists.
The fancy AI-generated playlists on Spotify tempt s into only learning a few hits rather than entire albums. The simplicity of Apple Music and the lack of AI is a clear benefit when it comes to music appreciation, rather than a drawback.
Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer listening to an album all the way through, appreciating the entirety of an artist’s work.
Additionally, going back to the iTunes days, Apple Music has been around far longer than Spotify. Apple Music and iTunes are separate platforms, but your iTunes library is accessible through Apple Music, giving you the option to playlists made up to 22 years ago. Spotify came into existence shortly after, but didn’t rise to popularity until much later. That nostalgic playlist you listened to in your childhood? It can’t be recovered on Spotify.
For those used to Apple technology, the makeup of Apple Music is intuitive and compatible with all your devices. In of sharing music with your friends, Apple Replay might not be as famous as Spotify Wrapped, but it serves the same purpose.
Ultimately, the Spotify vs. Apple Music debate is akin to the Windows vs. Mac debacle. Everyone’s preferences are different, but when it comes to paying artists for their work and accessing my childhood favourites, I opt for Apple Music.
—Madison Donnelly, Contributor
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