Spotify vs Apple Music

Jenna Olson, Staff Writer

There are many important debates in the world: books or movies, “Star Wars” or “Star Trek”, and is the dress black and blue or white and gold. There is one debate that tops them all: is Apple Music better than Spotify?  

One of the biggest differences between the two is the fact that there is a free version of Spotify. When using Apple Music, there is a monthly fee while with Spotify, it can be used for free with the occasional ad or there is the option of paying to get rid of ads and unlimited skips. 

A feature that both streaming services have is the formulated playlist that computers make based on what music listened to. I tend to listen to a variety of things from Disney soundtracks to alternative rock. As I listened to both of the playlists made by these services, Spotify could pick up on what I listen to most often from my strange mixture and made the proportions accurate to what my normal playlist consists of. While Apple tried its best to understand my music taste, the playlist was lacking the personality that Spotify provided.

One downside to Spotify is that it has over 35 million songs in its library. Apple has 45 million songs. When it comes down to it, both are loaded with tons of back catalog and current content. Apple Music will have the occasional exclusive album for a few weeks, but most albums usually appear on both at the same time. There are a few albums that can only be found on Apple Music and are not available on Spotify. One example would be “The Chronic” by Dr.Dre.

So there is a clear winner. I believe that Spotify is significantly better than Apple Music. While Apple Music is not terrible, Spotify is way better to use and is more personalized for the listener.