From exclusive podcasts to limitless downloads, there’s an audio streaming app out there for everyone.
With the summer months beginning, the weather getting better and barbeque season in full swing, there’s never been a better time to turn to streaming apps for convenient listening, hassle-free downloads and the huge range of choice they provide. But which one should you go for? To help you choose, here’s a run-down of the top 5 music streaming apps for Android and iOS this year, and what makes them so great. Get your sunglasses on, the speakers turned up and that playlist ready!
Spotify
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There are over 217 million Spotify users around the world right now, and over 100 million of them pay for Spotify Premium. So, what are the benefits?
When you subscribe to Spotify Premium, you can download an unlimited number of albums and songs to listen to offline in higher quality. Once you start building your library, Spotify learns what kind of music you like and makes great recommendations with Daily Mixes just for you.
Unwind to the albums you love without any annoying ad breaks, and there’s a mind-blowing choice of podcasts to tune into. Some podcasts are made exclusively for Spotify, so you won’t find them anywhere else.
You’re also able to play any song seamlessly on any of your devices – so if you’re listening to a track on your phone when you arrive home, you can easily switch to listening on your laptop.
If you want to give Spotify a go, you can try Premium free for 3 months. After that, it’s only £9.99 a month for a single subscription or £14.99 for a family plan with 6 accounts! And if you’re a student, you can subscribe to Premium for only £4.99 monthly!
Apple Music
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If you’re a fan of Apple and love the flawless iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac ecosystem, Apple Music might just be the perfect streaming app for you. There are over 60 million songs to listen to, and using the app is very similar to iTunes (RIP).
Just like Spotify, there’s no limit to how many songs you download or how many devices you listen on. And if you’re moving over from an iPhone to Android smartphone, you can still download Apple Music and keep your whole library of tunes.
But that’s not all. You can also listen live to radio stations broadcasting from all over the world, including Apple’s own station, Beats 1.
Like Spotify, you can give Apple Music a 3-month trial run for free. After your trial, it’s £9.99 a month for individuals or £14.99 a month for a family subscription (up to 6 people). And again, if you’re a student, just verify your college or university and it’s £4.99 a month.
Google Play Music
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Google’s music streaming app has loads to offer, no matter what device you use. There’s over 40 million songs available, along with radio stations based on artists, songs, albums or genre. So, if you find a new band and love how they sound, it’s easy to find similar music and expand your tastes.
If you’ve already got a huge library of existing tracks, you can upload them to your Google Play Music account and listen to them alongside your new discoveries. Easy.
You’ll also get to enjoy your music and podcasts completely ad-free, get smart recommendations based on what you listen to, and you’ll even get access to YouTube Music Premium too.
Try Google Play Music free for 30 days. After the trial period, Google Play Music is competitively priced at £9.99 a month for single users, and £14.99 a month for families of up to 6 people.
YouTube Music
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YouTube Music is a little different to other music streaming apps. Of course, you’ll be able to watch music videos while listening to your favourite artists, but that’s not the only difference.
Unlike regular YouTube, you can listen to your music in the background while using other apps or casually browsing. That means you can lock your screen to save power and keep the tunes flowing.
Remember the lyrics but forgotten the song title? Thanks to Google’s searching smarts, you can find the track you’re looking for simply by entering a lyric from the song. And it’s not just about official studio recordings. You’ll also get access to live versions of songs, covers, remixes, mashups and more.
Try YouTube Music Premium for one month absolutely free. After that, just like Spotify and Apple Music, it’s £9.99 a month for a standard premium subscription and £4.99 for subscribers. Or you can subscribe to a family account for £14.99 a month for up to 5 people.
Amazon Prime Music
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Amazon Prime Music is by far the most affordable option for music lovers. You need to have an Amazon Prime membership to access the 2 million songs in the Prime library, but you also get unlimited one-day delivery and Amazon Prime Video.
If you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device, you can ask Alexa to play a song and you’ll hear it instantly. You’ll also get unlimited downloads, so it’s great for taking your music on the commute or to places with reduced signal.
At just £7.99 a month for a regular Prime membership and £3.99 a month for students, Prime is considerably cheaper than the competition. And for a limited time for students, you can try Prime for a whole 6 months for free!
Those are our five top music streaming apps! What streaming service do you use to find new tunes? Let us know below!