Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Music or Spotify


  • Total voters
    118

davideotape

macrumors 6502a
Nov 16, 2012
530
145
I use spotify with the Hulu bundle *and* iTunes match ($25/year) for anything that absolutely requires the apple ecosystem. I have a lot of music puchased/ripped from old cds and match is also perfect for stuff not on spotify due to licensing.

Really hoping they dont kill itunes match.
 

TheSkywalker77

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 9, 2017
2,884
2,756
I use spotify with the Hulu bundle *and* iTunes match ($25/year) for anything that absolutely requires the apple ecosystem. I have a lot of music puchased/ripped from old cds and match is also perfect for stuff not on spotify due to licensing.

Really hoping they dont kill itunes match.
Isn’t iTunes Match an older iCloud Music Library?
 
  • Like
Reactions: RayB4

Clockworkz

macrumors regular
Sep 30, 2018
105
76
Las Vegas
I use Apple Music because I get it for free through Verizon. Other than that I have no preference as I’ve only ever used Apple Music.
 

davideotape

macrumors 6502a
Nov 16, 2012
530
145
Isn’t iTunes Match an older iCloud Music Library?
basically but itunes match is for your stored harddrive songs only. $25 a year, itunes (or in the future the Music app i guess) scans your hd, and where songs “match” their library you now have access to them everywhere not just your home hd. and really, even if there isnt a match theyll upload the audio file so you can access it regardless
 

TheSkywalker77

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 9, 2017
2,884
2,756
basically but itunes match is for your stored harddrive songs only. $25 a year, itunes (or in the future the Music app i guess) scans your hd, and where songs “match” their library you now have access to them everywhere not just your home hd. and really, even if there isnt a match theyll upload the audio file so you can access it regardless
Ah, I understand now. Yeah that does seem worth it if there's certain songs you want that aren't on Spotify or Apple Music.
 

davideotape

macrumors 6502a
Nov 16, 2012
530
145
its also worth it if you find spotify more valuable for discovering new music and the hulu bundle, but could still use the apple ecosystem for stuff like homepod and apple watch.
 

ledzepfan1981

macrumors 6502a
Mar 11, 2015
617
101
When I started to use Spotify on my iPhone, Apple Music didn't exist. So I have kept with it as I am happy with the service and I have read that they have more tracks than Apple Music.
 

Tibits

macrumors 6502
Feb 23, 2011
341
155
Actually Apple Music has more tracks overall and more exclusives than Spotify at this point. Where I still prefer Spotify is in the general UX and discovery/suggestion of music I'd like.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lJoSquaredl

brunosouza

macrumors newbie
Dec 15, 2015
1
0
Deezer.
For me the best app and some great bootlegs. The sound quality is greater than others (and I´m not a subscriber of the HiFi)
 

atmenterprises

macrumors 6502
Jan 28, 2006
389
204
The one thing that irks me about Apple Music is I can't add Apple Music tracks to playlists without turning on music in the cloud.
 

jammybastard

macrumors regular
Apr 26, 2010
124
18
In Trasnic
I have both.
Spotify is more intuitive to me.
Big thing....you can “like” a track, and you can “follow” a band/artist.
How do you “like” or “add” band to a list of bands you like on Apple Music?
You can’t.
You can “Love” a track, but not “Follow” a band so you can see when new music is released.
You can create a “station”...but why would I want to do that?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ledzepfan1981

jammybastard

macrumors regular
Apr 26, 2010
124
18
In Trasnic
I do that but I never see notifications or anything that tells me something new released. Where's that at? lol

totally non-scientific answer...on the iPhone app I never see notifications but...

“Home” screen,
I see “Recently Played” at top,
“New Podcast Episodes” below that,
and then if I scroll down I see “New Releases for You”
which seems to be curated from my the list of bands I follow.
YMMV
 

Jack Neill

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2015
2,266
2,293
San Antonio Texas
The biggest reason I use Apple Music is the integration with your iTunes library. I have tons of albums that aren’t available on Apple Music or Spotify (live albums, rarities, etc.) and I like to have these in my library. With Apple Music they all just get put into my iCloud account and my copies get mixed with those from Apple Music. With Spotify I had two separate libraries and was extremely annoyed by that

Thats funny, I have Spotify for that exact reason. I hate having music I don't own mixed in with music I do. I wish they would separate the libraries for people who don't want that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: macsound1

NYCValkyrie

macrumors 6502a
Jun 1, 2019
628
487
I tried both and went with Spotify despite being heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem. For me the ability to find new music and suggested playlists is far superior on Spotify. Sounds quality was a wash.

I use SongShift to transfer playlists over but Apple's music discovery has improved. It's still not Discover level but I like the Friend's Playlist and list of albums friends are listening to. But both are good premium services and you'll get to listen to music you enjoy on either platform. I use Apple Music for integration w/ my ATV & AW.
[doublepost=1567202280][/doublepost]
I do that but I never see notifications or anything that tells me something new released. Where's that at? lol

totally non-scientific answer...on the iPhone app I never see notifications but...

“Home” screen,
I see “Recently Played” at top,
“New Podcast Episodes” below that,
and then if I scroll down I see “New Releases for You”
which seems to be curated from my the list of bands I follow.
YMMV

Yeah, the underlying difference is that Apple Music is less in your face and I like that. It isn't hard to find when I want to find it but it's a little more "hey when you're ready, there's stuff for you under Browse."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tibits

Expos of 1969

Contributor
Aug 25, 2013
4,741
9,257
I pay for both. Apple for the larger library capabilities and Spotify for the better recommendation and discovery features.
 

jammybastard

macrumors regular
Apr 26, 2010
124
18
In Trasnic
Honestly, the only reason I use Apple Music is that I have a full Match account with my pre-streaming age music collection. The integration is nice.
 

justlexi

macrumors newbie
Sep 24, 2019
25
46
My vote goes to Spotify, I've been using it since 2016 and since then I never go back to using Apple Music. I feel like it is easier to navigate and I just simply love the interface.
 

TrenttonY

macrumors 65816
Nov 14, 2012
1,218
1,535
Pro tip for Apple Music. Wait for iTunes gift cards to go on sale (which is actually quite often) usually you can get a $100 dollar iTunes card for $85 dollars. Target, Costco, etc.
Then buy a whole year of Apple Music in advance, which cost $99

so you'll be paying $85 a year or roughly $7 dollars a month compared to $120 a year or $10 a month.

If you intend to be subscribed to Apple Music for a long time, these savings add up.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DotCom2

Samuel Engel

macrumors newbie
Oct 20, 2020
9
1
Germany
It reminds me a little on the question Playstation or XBox. I guess both are good. I am using Spotify since some years and I am totally satisfied. The sound quality is sufficient. The price is very good. And Spotify overs a lot of nice options such as artists playlist and a huge amount of podcasts. And it needs less data volume also I did not download the music for listening offline
 

SuperMatt

Suspended
Mar 28, 2002
1,569
8,281
Spotify follows the model of Facebook. They want to traffic in your personal data.



I just want to listen to music I like. I don’t want my music app to be a social network. And I DEFINITELY do not want them selling my private information.

Apple Music if you care about privacy.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.