Two of the best music streaming services out there are Spotify and Deezer. And the great thing is, you don’t have to part with your hard-earned cash to enjoy them. Yes, they offer paid subscriptions, but they also give you the option of signing-up and listening to songs for free. You might have to sit through an advert every now and then, but that’s not too much trouble is it? To help you decide which of these music streaming heavyweights to go for, here’s a run-down of each one.
Spotify
(Android, iOS)There are 170 million active Spotify users worldwide, with 95 million using the service free of charge.
Spotify has over 35 million songs and thousands of podcasts available. Each Friday, the latest record releases, exclusive live sessions, and new singles are added to its ‘New Releases’ tab.
What you get for free
If you’re a free Spotify customer you can listen to any song in shuffle mode. You can skip five tracks an hour, but you’ll need to listen to some fairly regular adverts. Also, sound quality is limited to ‘standard’ rather than the HD quality you get on the paid version.
You’ll be asked to select your favourite artists as soon as you get started with the Spotify app. You’ll then be given recommendations and playlists based on your taste in music.
You’ll also get on-demand access to 15 ‘select’ playlists for free, and play any playlist song without having to shuffle. The playlists are generated by Spotify based on your listening habits, they include a total of 750 songs, and they’re constantly being updated.
Deezer
(Android, iOS)Deezer has 14 million monthly active users, with 8 million of them happily enjoying it for free. In addition to its 53 million music tracks, it also offers over 30,000 news and entertainment shows.
What you get for free
If you’re a free Deezer customer you’ll be able to listen to songs in shuffle mode. If you press play on an artist, you’ll be played a mix based on their music.
You can skip up to six tracks an hour, and you’ll get regular adverts. Also, sound quality is limited to ‘standard’ rather than the HD quality you get on the paid version.
Deezer’s ‘Flow’ claims to be your very own personalised radio channel. If you can’t decide what to listen to, activate flow and it’ll start playing music that it reckons you’ll be into, based on what you’ve been listening to in the past. If you like what you’re hearing, tap the heart icon to make it a favourite track, and to give Deezer an even better idea of what floats your boat. If there’s a track you’re less enamoured with, tap the heart with a line through it to let Deezer you never want to hear it ever again.