I Subscribe to Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music, and Here’s Why
Each music streaming service has its own unique features and interface, but unlike video streaming apps, the actual content selection is pretty much the same across all of them: you get access to tens of millions of songs on-demand across all of your many devices.
With that in mind, it doesn’t make much sense to subscribe to multiple music streaming platforms. People are much more likely to choose between them , find a service they prefer, and then stick with it — and once you’ve invested in playlists and listening history, it’s hard to give up.
But I subscribe to not one, not two, but three music streaming services — and I’ll try to explain why I stay active on all of them. If you’ve ever been stuck on just one option, you might not know that there are actually some key differences between them, and different ways in which they’re all worth the money.
Of course, it won’t work for everyone, and it’s definitely expensive. As a tech journalist, I make my living writing about these different streaming apps, which helps justify the expense, and your mileage may vary depending on whether the differences between these platforms matter to you.
Before we get into the three streaming services themselves, I want to give a shout-out to a fourth service, Last.fm : It tracks my listening across multiple music platforms, allowing me to look back and see how my music tastes have changed over time, even as I switch between three separate subscriptions.
Apple Music: Choosing the Past
I’ve been listening to digital music via iTunes since the turn of the century, and that’s a big reason why I continue to rely on Apple Music for most of my daily listening. I still have a curated collection of local digital music files, and Apple Music can easily mix them with new music I listen to on demand. For the bands I really like, I still buy the music — both to support them and just in case I want to stop renting music (and movies and TV shows) one day.
Another big reason I use Apple Music over any other streaming service is the control I have over my library and playlists: there are algorithms and music recommendations, sure, but I rely on them far less. Apple Music is a return to being able to organize the music you like and determine what you listen to, rather than just opening the app and hitting play on whatever auto-generated playlist seems most appealing.
Smart playlists are also a big part of the experience. They let you create playlists from your library based on a range of criteria: total plays, date, genre, rating, last played, artist, and more. They update in real time, so your “songs I haven’t heard in six months” playlist will continually update as you listen to it and the metadata updates.
I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit putting together numerous smart playlists. They allow me to balance new music with old, prioritize my favorites while adding more obscure tracks, and mean that forgotten tracks I haven’t heard in a year or more will still occasionally pop up in my queue without me having to hunt for them. If I ever switched to just one music streaming service, I think I’d stick with this one.
YouTube Music: The Widest Choice
YouTube is kind of the opposite of Apple Music because I often just click on a music video I like and see where the recommendation algorithm takes me. YouTube probably knows my musical tastes better than any other app or platform because I’ve spent hours clicking on those flashy thumbnails, and that’s great for discovering new bands and new songs.
It’s a simple, sit-back-and-listen experience that works everywhere: on web browsers, TVs, phones, and tablets of all kinds. YouTube can be played on almost any device. And any YouTube listening syncs with YouTube Music (while all my YouTube Music playlists are also available through YouTube) — I can switch between audio and video as needed.
It’s convenient and accessible, and on top of that, YouTube Music (via YouTube) has more music than anywhere else: live versions, B-sides, alternate versions you won’t find anywhere else, obscure concert recordings made by fans, and everything in between. There’s a depth and breadth here that Apple Music and Spotify can’t match.
Another feature I love about YouTube Music is the ability to queue up different playlists across different devices, even in different browser tabs. On my laptop, I can have a new music mix (for fun) and a lo-fi chill mix (for focus) available in adjacent browser tabs, and switch between them with a click. If I then go for a drive, I can listen to a third YouTube Music playlist without losing my place in any of the playlists I’m working on at home.
Spotify: The Power User’s Choice
Finally, I subscribe to Spotify because, well, despite everything I’ve already said about its competitors, it’s the best music streaming service. It has the most polished apps, with the most features available — like Blend playlists, which you can use to combine your musical tastes with a friend’s to create a cohesive mix, and an AI DJ that can queue up tracks for you.
When it comes to third-party speakers, apps, and AI assistants, Spotify is the music streaming service most likely to be supported: It doesn’t favor specific devices or platforms like Apple Music and YouTube Music. It’s available everywhere, and it’s the easiest way to share music with others because almost everyone uses it.
I use Spotify mainly for new music. It has a fantastic set of recommendations, including the Release Radar playlist (new music from artists I like) and the Discover Weekly playlist (a weekly mix of new and old music, including artists I know and those I don’t). I also love all the weird and wonderful playlists that other Spotify users curate and put out for everyone else to enjoy.
Furthermore (and despite what I said about YouTube Music), sometimes I want a playlist that I can transfer from my laptop to my smart speaker to my car and back again without missing a beat—and Spotify does a better job of that than either Apple Music or YouTube Music.