The days of buying $1.29 songs for the iPod have been long gone, and a new age of downloading music is upon us. Streaming music, as the kids say, is the new future, but there are many different outlets to choose from – the most popular being Apple Music and Spotify.
With heavy apps like Spotify downloaded on my phone and computer, I'm constantly struggling to maintain iCloud storage space. Not only does Spotify take up space, it also drains phone batteries because of how often it's used. I justified this, however, because I told myself it was cheaper than buying the songs individually.
After doing some research on the streaming service and other options, I deleted my Spotify account.
I started by researching what Apple Music even offered; I had always been too distracted by loving Spotify to actually look into it. According to their website, Apple Music is Apple’s way of allowing users to stream music “without ever hearing an ad.”
For $9.99 per month, users can stream over 40 million artisits and songs from their Apple device. Students can get a discount and have the cost lowered to $4.99 per month. The best part of this deal, though, is that Apple Music works whether your device is online or offline — something Spotify does not offer.
The competitor for Apple Music and my OG, Spotify, has been around longer than Apple Music and has an option for users to stream music for free, but this option includes advertisements. However, Spotify has a premium option that allows students to pay $4.99/per month as well as free access to Hulu Limited Commercials. Spotify also allows you to stream as much as you want as it takes up all the storage a phone can have whether it's an iPhone, Android or various gaming systems.
However, not all students, including myself, believe that Spotify, despite all of its advantages, is the best deal.
One Auburn student, Nate Shelton, sophomore in finance, recommended Apple Music to me because of its more reasonable price and better display. He also mentioned Spotify's issue with lagging.
I decided to check out Apple Music for myself, and I was shocked at how much easier it was to use on my phone. I also felt that Apple Music blended albums that I could download — for free, might I add — seamlessly into music I already owned. The layout and design was easier on the eyes, especially because I like how Apple products aesthetically in general.
Moral of the story, if you own any sort of Apple Device, delete your Spotify.
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