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Spotify Matches Apple Music $14.99 Per Month Family Plan
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I like Spotify but I think their days are numbered. I don't see how they can fight off Apple, Amazon and Google long-term. There just isn't enough differentiation and lack of integration with a platform will always keep them at a disadvantage.
As I said, "in this case"... And no, Apple isn't miles behind. These music services are not as highly differentiated as you seem to think, including pricing, and that's Spotify's problem.
They don't have a profitable business supporting their money losing music service the way Amazon, Apple and Google does.
Another disadvantage they face is the lack of tight integration with a mobile platform.
Don't get me wrong, I like Spotify and used to use their service. But Siri integration and the family plan were enough to make me switch to Apple Music and I can't see anything Spotify can do to win me back; short of giving the service away for free.
As I said, "in this case"... And no, Apple isn't miles behind. These music services are not as highly differentiated as you seem to think, including pricing, and that's Spotify's problem.
They don't have a profitable business supporting their money losing music service the way Amazon, Apple and Google does.
Another disadvantage they face is the lack of tight integration with a mobile platform.
Don't get me wrong, I like Spotify and used to use their service. But Siri integration and the family plan were enough to make me switch to Apple Music and I can't see anything Spotify can do to win me back; short of giving the service away for free.
Spotify simply employed the technique Apple has built it's business on.
I'm particularly familiar with Apple and their culture of greed, and self importance. Narcissism hardly begins to define the air of superiority baked into the Cupertino Company.
Netflix is a limited library compared to Spotify, which has almost permanent access to almost every catalogue in the industry.
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How about Spotify Connect - an amazing system that lets you control music on one device and play it from another. For me this is great because my speakers are connected to my PC, but I work on my Mac. Now I can have music coming out of my speakers, controlled from the Mac app (or phone app if you prefer)
A fantastic feature and pretty much the only thing I miss (I am on a Deezer 6 month freebie to save money)
Obviously you don't value music highly.
I don't think Spotify is particularly worried about Apple Music, since it is mostly limited to Apple devices, which have about 15% market share globally. Google is likely a bigger threat, but IMO can't quite compare with the user experience that Spotify has. Amazon's subscription service currently has a pretty limited music selection (but that may change).
I also see little evidence that platform integration is a strong argument for a music streaming service. It seems to be more important to be available on all platforms, and this is where Spotify really shines. You can get it on anything from phones to smart TVs and car audio systems. Apple seems to think similarly, which is why they made the Apple Music app for Android in a highly unusual move (the app is pretty crappy though).
Every market except Canada? For some reason Canadians get continually screwed lol. They're too nice.
As for Spotify, it's still way better than Apple Music because of Discover Weekly.
As for Spotify, it's still way better than Apple Music because of Discover Weekly.
That's a feature I do miss, as well as timestamps of when songs were added to the service.
I figure this is something that Apple can improve upon with time.
I wonder if anyone does a budgeting of their money they spend in a year ? $180.00 / year for any rental music service sounds like a waste of money.
That has nothing to do with it. I don't think it's strange to question the value of a subscription when it's so much cheaper to share via 6 others.
A lot of people find these subscription prices too costly. Not exactly in the minority here.
Paying 10$ a month could either be for one album (maybe, I've bought albums of greatest hits that were over 20$) or unlimited access to over 30m songs. I don't see h9w the value can be questioned. If anything, the family pass undervalues music.
Is that really a feature that the masses care about though? I mean, I can AirPlay from my iPhone to my JBL L8 speaker and control it from my Apple Watch, but for the most part, I don't think that's a huge selling point for most users... I could be wrong.
But any single feature or pricing can easily be copied by another unless it requires tight integration with a platform, and that's where Spotify is at a disadvantage IMO.
For example, I can use Siri to play any song without even touching my iPhone and I can even do that in my car when I'm connected via lightning or Bluetooth.
Unlimited music for a family of 6 for $180 is a steal. It's the price of one album per month...The "ownership vs rental" thing is so overblown. As long as you can commit to the equivalent of one album per month, you can keep unlimited music forever. For most people that's not a problem.
I'd been a Spotify subscriber since the day they launched in the US. I left 2 months ago because Apple's Family plans were so attractive. Spotify was $10 for the first user, $5 for each additional. That adds up fast, and I saved a lot by switching to Apple Music, and told Spotify as much when I cancelled.
Glad they're listening. I might be up for switching back at some point in the future.
Glad they're listening. I might be up for switching back at some point in the future.
I don't think you understand the economics or the user base. Not every Family Plan will host 6 full time users. Many, perhaps the majority will be a main user who uses it all the time, plus a spouse or partner who uses it less frequently.
I suspect with adequate stats you'd find the average Family Plan streams fewer than 2x the amount of music a single account does. Hence requiring only a 50% price increase to cover licensing costs.
I think you mean to say "Apple are years behind Spotify"
What did you expect? Them to join the streaming world and be better than every other service on day one?
That's kinda silly.
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I'm still trying to get people to tell me how Spotify is so much better than AM. I'm serious. Never used Spotify.
I use both. Their interface is better. And their weekly music suggestion playlist is actually nothing short of amazing. It recommends very very good music that matches what I like, and that I have never heard before.
But for me, those are the only things they do better.
Maybe that's why I don't see it. I don't generally open the app that much. I just use Siri to play songs, occasionally making a playlist for it to play when I'm doing certain tasks. I can control it with my watch to start the playlists.
Thanks for helping me out there. I suppose most people just assumed I was being sarcastic when I really had no idea.
Try it, if you like it then enjoy it. If you don't like it then stick with Apple Music.
Everyone is too damn busy bashing on ether service thinking one is better than the other. It's not, both has its pros and cons. Just really depends on end user preference on their needs.
Try Discover Weekly on Spotify. It's amazingly good at finding music you'll enjoy based on your existing library and those of other users with similar taste.
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't implying that AM is the greatest and Spotify sucks. If it came across that way, I apologize. I'm even going to go looking for the songs right now. No reason to be stuck with one service just because Apple makes it.
After reading through most of the comments before me, it seems there are people that prefer Spotify over Apple and vice versa. Features seems to be comparable, and now price is as well. So mostly preference. Here is a problem that isn't being discussed, the makers of music give their music away by posting it on Youtube as a video or other. I see my daughters and even my wife "listen" to music via Youtube -- FREE. Until the industry fixes that it seems that the streaming services will have an uphill fight to be profitable. And as has been stated in prior comments, Spotify has not other source of revenue (like Tidal) so it will be more difficult for them to stay afloat. In other words, it all Google's fault.
Which is why I still buy. In the end, I probably save money since I doubt I purchase $180 worth of music a year these days (my age is showing).
In summary, it is good that Spotify is getting into the family plan to stay competitive. But Google's Youtube is going to continue to push the price of stream below where it can be sustainable on it's own.
Which is why I still buy. In the end, I probably save money since I doubt I purchase $180 worth of music a year these days (my age is showing).
In summary, it is good that Spotify is getting into the family plan to stay competitive. But Google's Youtube is going to continue to push the price of stream below where it can be sustainable on it's own.