"The advantages that Spotify and YouTube Music have."
Photo by TheRegisti on Unsplash
Digital music service platforms are increasingly popping up, such as Spotify, Joox, and Apple Music. Smartphone users are also now increasingly turning to listen to music digitally through these services. Seeing that potential, Google didn’t want to lose. The giant technology company recently launched YouTube Music.
Just like Spotify, YouTube Music can also be used by iOS and Android smartphone users. As a newcomer to the world of digital music services, YouTube Music offers several great features. When compared with its competitor, there are some unique features that are not available on YouTube Music, and vice versa. What are the advantages possessed by the two music streaming services? Here goes the review!
Before comparing, Alinear will provide information about the cost of subscribing to Spotify and YouTube Music. Both of them offer free features, but with limited features. In another case, if you subscribe to a premium one, you’ll get all the interesting features offered.
Broadly speaking, the benefits of a premium subscription on both services are almost the same, there are no advertisements that suddenly appear when you want to listen to music, and users can download songs to be listened to even when they are offline.
Photo by Szabo Viktor on Unsplash
The price of the premium for both platforms is almost the same. For Spotify, prices for the regular package start from Rp.49,990, the student package Rp.24,990, and the family package Rp.79,000. However, Spotify also offers a weekly package at Rp. 16,500. While YouTube Music only provides a regular package for Rp 49,000, a student package for Rp 24,990, and a family package for Rp 75,000, without a weekly package.
Even so, Google offers a YouTube Premium package where users can simultaneously get access to listening to YouTube Music, with subscription prices starting from Rp. 59,000 for regular, Rp. 34,990 for students, and Rp. 89,000 for the family package.
Now switch to the home interface. At a glance, both services have a similar home interface. This home section contains lists of music that have been adjusted to the user's music taste and popular songs or new releases. However, the playlist menu on Spotify's home page is more numerous, such as "Recently Played", "Sing-along", "Based on Your Recent Listening", and so on.
However, YouTube Music also has a great feature that’s not available on Spotify, it’s that YouTube Music can be played on many devices simultaneously using the same Google account with different songs.
Photo by Norbert Buduczki on Unsplash
While on Spotify, instead of playing it together, this feature is just like transferring music from your smartphone to your PC or vice versa. The user must choose an option by tapping the "Devices Available" icon in the lower right corner of your PC screen or the lower left corner of your smartphone screen. Then, you can choose to want to play a song on a PC or mobile. If you are listening on your PC and choose to listen on your smartphone, then music will come out from your smartphone.
Another advantage that YouTube Music has is its video feature. YouTube, a sharing videos platform, including music videos from millions of musicians around the world, provides a nice music video feature. On YouTube Music, in addition to listening to songs in audio format, users can also watch music videos if available.
Interestingly, users can switch between songs and videos in real time. So, when you are listening to a song, then switch to the video, the music video that plays will start at the minute you switch to the video, not playing the video from the beginning.
Even so, Spotify also has an interesting feature in the form of short video clips and Behind the Lyrics. The Storyline video presents unique facts behind the making of the song and the meaning of the song's lyrics, as well as of the song's lyrics.
Both Spotify and YouTube Music Premium provide a download option. That way, users can listen to songs offline (without an internet connection). Especially for YouTube Music, users can not only download music in audio format but can also save videos in their smartphone's internal and external memory. Unfortunately, the saved video will still be in audio format.
Photo by Sebastian Pandelache on Unsplash
Until now, only Spotify music service has provided a podcast feature. According to YouTube Music Product Manager, Brandon Bilinski, YouTube Music is still doing research related to podcasts. Because the search engine company also has a separate podcast app called Google Podcast.
Both Spotify and YouTube Music have their own excellence. It all depends on you, which one do you choose? Or choose both?
