Whether you’re looking for music to listen to at home, on the road, or on your favorite podcast, there are plenty of spotify like apps to choose from. Some of these services offer access to millions of songs, while others have smaller selections.
Soundcloud
Whether you are a professional musician, casual music listener, audiophile or a beginner, Soundcloud is a great way to discover new artists and independent music. The platform also allows you to share your music with your friends.
The Soundcloud platform has over 200 million songs. Compared to other music streaming services, Soundcloud has a broader range of independent songs. Among these songs, you will find a mix of popular and underground music.
Soundcloud is an easy-to-use platform for sharing music. You can post your own songs, share songs from other users, comment on mixes, and even follow your favorite artists.
The Soundcloud free version provides a limited number of uploads, but users can get a premium subscription. The premium version provides higher quality streaming. The higher quality streaming provides a better sound quality, which helps the listener hear the song more clearly.
With the free plan, you can access most tracks in the library. You can also create your own playlists and share them with your friends. However, most of the features are limited. Unless you are a premium member, you will be unable to play songs in the offline mode.
While the Soundcloud platform is very easy to use, it can be a bit cluttered. If you have problems navigating the website, you can switch between interfaces and use the Explore tab to find related music.
Another feature of Soundcloud is the “repost” function. This function allows users to repost songs from other users, just like the Twitter retweet function.
Resso
Founded by the team behind TikTok, Resso is a music streaming app that’s built on a social platform. Resso is a music-based social network that allows users to create and share music-related images and videos. Users can also comment and share lyrics of songs.
The Resso app’s unique user interface encourages music expression, making it a platform for a new generation of music enthusiasts. The Resso algorithm learns from user profiles, music preferences, genres, and other parameters to suggest playlists. Resso is also capable of identifying songs based on surrounding sounds and other phone applications.
Resso offers a free 14-day trial. The app has a large catalog of music and offers both downloadable content and streaming. Resso Premium is a premium version of the app that offers great audio quality. It also has an ad-free experience. Users can also choose to have their music streamed offline.
Resso has signed deals with major global and local music industries, such as Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. It also has a strong social component, with the ability to follow and comment on other users’ playlists. Resso also has a feature called ‘vibes’, which allows users to create music-based images and videos. Vibes automatically run in the background while users are streaming. This feature is available on both iOS and Android devices.
Resso also offers “lyric quotes”, which let users select and share snippets of lyrics. Users can also export lyrics with cover art, which can be added to other platforms.
Tidal
Compared to Spotify, Tidal’s user interface is easier to navigate. There are also fewer curated titles to choose from. In addition, Tidal’s desktop app offers a full suite of playback controls, large images, and a logical navigation structure.
While Tidal’s desktop app isn’t quite as effective as Spotify’s, it does offer some features that are exclusive to the platform. For example, Tidal’s desktop app includes a big search bar, which allows users to search for songs in the app’s library. Also, Tidal’s main navigation tab offers videos. You can watch music-related movies or live performances.
Tidal also offers a feature called Behind the Lyrics, which delivers artist stories. It also has a social section, which lets users share music with their friends.
In addition, Tidal has a feature called My Activity, which offers daily insights into music streaming habits. You can see which artists are getting royalties, what songs you’re listening to, and who your friends are listening to. This is a good step toward transparency.
Tidal’s HiFi Plus subscription tier offers HiFi audio quality. You can also choose to listen to 320 kbps AAC files or FLAC, which is a lossless format that delivers a close-to-original sound quality.
Tidal also has a subscription tier called Tidal X, which allows users to access live concerts and events from their favorite artists. It also allows users to take part in exclusive meet and greets.
Apple Music
Besides its slick interface and extensive library, Apple Music features a few other perks, such as podcasts and live event alerts. It also supports iCloud Music Library, which allows users to stream local music files to Apple devices.
However, while Apple Music offers a lot of features and features, the app doesn’t do everything well. The most impressive feature of the app is its radio feature. It features curated playlists based on certain genres, topics, and tastes. This feature helps users discover new music by the radio.
While Apple Music has an extensive library of music and features, it’s not quite as easy to navigate as Spotify. There are a lot of tabs to choose from, and the navigation bar is a bit of a pain.
Unlike Spotify, Apple Music doesn’t support collaborative playlists. It also doesn’t offer the option to skip tracks on-demand. However, the free version of the app is limited to shuffled playlists. It’s also worth mentioning that the app’s free tier doesn’t offer the best possible quality stream.
The aforementioned radio feature is also good at displaying other music-related information, including artist bios and live events. Its Discover Weekly feature automatically generates hours of new music based on your listening habits. This feature also allows you to browse tons of music videos.
Despite all of its features, Apple Music still has a ways to go before it can match Spotify’s free music streaming feature. However, with its upcoming high fidelity service, Apple may have the edge in the near future.
Tencent Music
Having just completed a $1.2 billion IPO, Tencent Music is looking to expand its revenue and profit margins. The company has already signed exclusive master licensing deals with global music labels, giving it a major competitive edge. The company’s revenue comes from its social entertainment services and online music services. These services combine to serve 55.5 million paying users.
Tencent Music offers music to listeners through its mobile applications, WeChat and QQ accounts. Music is also sold through pre-release streaming blocks, virtual gifts, and raffle tickets for artist merchandise. The company has twenty hundred labels and offers more than twenty million tracks. It also provides tools for artists to manage their fan base and increase engagement.
The company’s gross margin has increased to 32.6% from 24.7%. In the third quarter, Tencent Music’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) grew from 8.5 yuan to 8.8 yuan. Tencent Music’s revenue growth was driven by the increase in subscription revenue.
The company also lowered fixed costs by partnering with leading music companies. It is also sublicensing its content to other music services in China. In April, Tencent Music Entertainment launched its One-Click For All distribution service, which allows independent musicians to distribute music to over 150 platforms worldwide.
Tencent Music has been profitable by gaining market share in the domestic market. In the third quarter, Tencent Music’s gross margin grew by 4.1%, and its non-IFRS adjusted net profit grew by 38.7%. The company is also profitable through its premium memberships and advertising. It earns about 70% of its revenue from premium memberships.
Saavn
Several music streaming apps have entered the Indian market, such as Saavn, Gaana, Amazon Prime Music and others. These apps promise to provide high quality music and ad free streaming. However, the best platform depends on the personal preference of the user. Here is a quick comparison of the popular music streaming apps.
Spotify is the largest music streaming app in the world. It has over 40 million users and over three billion playlists. This app is available on Android, iOS, desktop and web platforms. You can create customized playlists based on your favorites. You can follow artists and listen to their radio stations. There is also a student plan that costs only 50 percent of the regular plan.
JioSaavn is an Indian music streaming platform. It has a huge library of Indian and international artists. It has several features that compete with Spotify. Some of the features of JioSaavn include Daily Mixes, Artist Radio, and a large collection of regional music. It also has podcasts. You can download offline songs. There is also a paid ad free plan. It costs $9.99 per month.
Saavn has an interesting algorithm for suggesting songs. It creates 50 songs based on the preferences of the user. The app has a Now Playing screen that shows the song being played and information about it. You can also comment on the song.
Resso is another music app. It was launched last year in 2020 and has been receiving some attention for its unique UI. However, it does not have a good fan base in India.