Spotify Premium Extends Free Trial Period to Three Months

[MacRumors]

Spotify is extending its free trial period for Spotify Premium to three months, up from the previous one month that new users usually have to try out the paid service.

In a blog post announcing the offer, Spotify said the free three-month trial of its Individual Premium plan is available to eligible Free and first-time users.

In addition, Spotify said those who canceled their Premium plan before July 15 for whatever reason can get it back with the first three months charged at just $9.99, which is less than $4 a month.

Both offers are now live and will run through September 11. After the three-month trial ends, subscriptions renew automatically at the regular monthly cost of $9.99. Both offers are open to eligible users in 135 Spotify markets around the world.

Apple Music is still currently running its typical one-month free trial for new users, but if the service responds with a like-for-like extension of its trial to counter Spotify's offer, you can be sure we'll cover it here.

Article Link: Spotify Premium Extends Free Trial Period to Three Months

 

[1557750]

How does Spotify compare to Apple Music? I’ve never dived into it.

I’d hate to put even 3 free months into making playlists and gathering song just to find I don’t like it.

 

[GigabitEthernet]

They've been doing this offer again and again for literally five years lol

 

[doobydoooby]

All the streaming services have a broadly similar catalogue of music. Where Spotify comes into its own is for discovery of new music: it's fabulous, streets ahead of the competition. And its UI is pretty good too. Unfortunately its sound quality is really poor in comparison with the others so you must take your choice, sound quality vs discovery: if you are just listening on bluetooth headphones through a phone then maybe you wont notice the difference but if you have any kind of hifi setup that you want to stream your music through then all their competitors have much much better sound quality. Its such a shame, I would be really happy to subscribe to spotify but the sound quality makes it pointless.

 

[arkitect]

How does Spotify compare to Apple Music? I’ve never dived into it.

I’d hate to put even 3 free months into making playlists and gathering song just to find I don’t like it.

This is a terribly unpopular opinion to express here on MacRumours, so I am braced for the usual incoming hate mail/death threats/fatwahs etc…

IMHO, Spotify is much better than Apple Music.

Main thing is I can control Spotify on my Mac by using the iPhone app. I come in from outside listening to something on Spotify and it picks up and continues on my Mac. Seamless.
You Cannot do this with Apple Music. It is not possible…

I have had Spotify for many years and cannot fault the suggestions of new music etc.

Spotify understands/has learnt I don't want to or need to listen to Hip Hop/Urban whatever that crap is that Apple keeps suggesting to me. (But if that is your thing, then by god, Apple will help you fill your needs.

I listen to Classical mostly and while Apple has the same catalogue as Spotify, the search function is dismal — often incomplete and just plain wrongly catalogued.

But… give both Spotify and Apple Music a go.

All the streaming services have a broadly similar catalogue of music. Where Spotify comes into its own is for discovery of new music: it's fabulous, streets ahead of the competition. And its UI is pretty good too.

Agree.

Unfortunately its sound quality is really poor in comparison with the others so you must take your choice, sound quality vs discovery: if you are just listening on bluetooth headphones through a phone then maybe you wont notice the difference but if you have any kind of hifi setup that you want to stream your music through then all their competitors have much much better sound quality. Its such a shame, I would be really happy to subscribe to spotify but the sound quality makes it pointless.

Really?
I listen to Spotify at out on the street, at home and while at work… The quality is 100% for me. All settings are on Very High.
I also have a current Apple Music sub and the difference in quality is just not there… I mean, I see people talk about the quality difference, but, I do not hear it.

But then again I am no "Audiophile" who sits hunched next to their speakers waiting to pounce on perceived distrortions and quality issues. 🤣

 

[boak]

This is a terribly unpopular here on MacRumours, so I am braced for the usual incoming hate mail/death threats/fatwahs etc…

IMHO, Spotify is much better than Apple Music.

Main thing is I can control Spotify on my Mac by using the iPhone app. I come in from outside listening to something on Spotify and it picks up and continues on my Mac. Seamless.
You Cannot do this with Apple Music. It is not possible…

I have had Spotify for many years and cannot fault the suggestions of new music etc.

Spotify understands/has learnt I don't want to or need to listen to Hip Hop/Urban whatever that crap is that Apple keeps suggesting to me. (But if that is your thing, then by god, Apple will help you fill your needs.

I listen to Classical mostly and while Apple has the same catalogue as Spotify, the search function is dismal — often incomplete and just plain wrongly catalogued.

But… give both Spotify and Apple Music a go.

The UX on Spotify is much better. UI also seems "lighter" but that's probably just me.

 

[radioking]

You can get a 6 month Apple Music free trial from Best Buy if you haven’t subscribed before. It will give you 5 months if you subscribed in the past.

 

[arkitect]

The UX on Spotify is much better. UI also seems "lighter" but that's probably just me.

100% Agree. 👍

 

[Lee_Bo]

If Apple Music wasn’t already bundled with another deal and paid for, I’d probably be using Spotify.

But I also have SiriusXM because there are places I drive that T-Mobile doesn’t have signal.

 

[1557750]

@arkitect haha! No judgement or death threats here. Thanks for the reply, and very interesting. Seems like I’m gonna have to try it now. I know a couple people that refuse to leave it but never explained helpful uses like you did.

I’ve always used Apple Music for the free promos and because it’s integrated. But hate some of their suggestions as well.

Thanks! 👊😃👍

 

[Cromulent]

This is a terribly unpopular opinion to express here on MacRumours, so I am braced for the usual incoming hate mail/death threats/fatwahs etc…

IMHO, Spotify is much better than Apple Music.

Main thing is I can control Spotify on my Mac by using the iPhone app. I come in from outside listening to something on Spotify and it picks up and continues on my Mac. Seamless.
You Cannot do this with Apple Music. It is not possible…

I have had Spotify for many years and cannot fault the suggestions of new music etc.

Spotify understands/has learnt I don't want to or need to listen to Hip Hop/Urban whatever that crap is that Apple keeps suggesting to me. (But if that is your thing, then by god, Apple will help you fill your needs.

I listen to Classical mostly and while Apple has the same catalogue as Spotify, the search function is dismal — often incomplete and just plain wrongly catalogued.

But… give both Spotify and Apple Music a go.


Agree.

Really?
I listen to Spotify at out on the street, at home and while at work… The quality is 100% for me. All settings are on Very High.
I also have a current Apple Music sub and the difference in quality is just not there… I mean, I see people talk about the quality difference, but, I do not hear it.

But then again I am no "Audiophile" who sits hunched next to their speakers waiting to pounce on perceived distrortions and quality issues. 🤣

I used Spotify Premium as soon as it came out and have to agree that I prefer Spotify. Apple Music does do some things better, such as better audio quality and the fact that all the rest of my family use Apple Music, so it is much easier to share music between family members.

I have moved to Apple Music, and since I've been using it for a few months, it has figured out what I like and is pretty good. I'll stick to Apple Music, but I'll keep Spotify around to listen to new music.

 

[doobydoooby]

Really?
I listen to Spotify at out on the street, at home and while at work… The quality is 100% for me. All settings are on Very High.
I also have a current Apple Music sub and the difference in quality is just not there… I mean, I see people talk about the quality difference, but, I do not hear it.

But then again I am no "Audiophile" who sits hunched next to their speakers waiting to pounce on perceived distrortions and quality issues. 🤣

Yeah I'm aware I may be making my own story up here I listen on tidal: when I'm using the ios app it shapes the music on my sony headphones with its spatial watnot which is something that apple refuses to accept into its walled garden, so I get a much nicer experience than listening through white apples. But the main reason is because my mac is hooked up to a dac and into my hifi system at home, and there I can notice a big difference. And since I work from home thats a big motivator for me. To me. In my brain But hey, maybe its confirmation bias...

 

[doobydoooby]

Oh, and the other reason i prefer literally any other music service to apples for streaming is because I have years and years of music on my computer, all linked in to itunes/apple music. Its really great as a catalogue when I want to drift down memory lane, but it means that the suggestions coming to me from apple music are based on that really looooong timeline of music and its hard for me to shape it away from those that are just there for posterity and my general amusement. If I go with any other streaming service then I'm able to build up my listening pleasure based on the things I'm listening to recently, that i really like, without worrying that abba or the carpenters are going to hiccup their way into my feed!

 

[gsmornot]

This is a terribly unpopular opinion to express here on MacRumours, so I am braced for the usual incoming hate mail/death threats/fatwahs etc…

IMHO, Spotify is much better than Apple Music.

Main thing is I can control Spotify on my Mac by using the iPhone app. I come in from outside listening to something on Spotify and it picks up and continues on my Mac. Seamless.
You Cannot do this with Apple Music. It is not possible…

I have had Spotify for many years and cannot fault the suggestions of new music etc.

Spotify understands/has learnt I don't want to or need to listen to Hip Hop/Urban whatever that crap is that Apple keeps suggesting to me. (But if that is your thing, then by god, Apple will help you fill your needs.

I listen to Classical mostly and while Apple has the same catalogue as Spotify, the search function is dismal — often incomplete and just plain wrongly catalogued.

But… give both Spotify and Apple Music a go.


Agree.

Really?
I listen to Spotify at out on the street, at home and while at work… The quality is 100% for me. All settings are on Very High.
I also have a current Apple Music sub and the difference in quality is just not there… I mean, I see people talk about the quality difference, but, I do not hear it.

But then again I am no "Audiophile" who sits hunched next to their speakers waiting to pounce on perceived distrortions and quality issues. 🤣

You can move the music to the HomePod by holding your phone near the top. Not the same, just thought I would mention it. I have used Spotify in the past and feel it did a much better job with curation. I stick with Apple Music becuase I have a bigger subscription of services and dont want to add another.

 

[wgonzvega]

I moved from Apple Music to Spotify about 7 months ago. The reasons I switched:
1. GUI is so much better, Apple GUI can’t match. It’s seems like Apple Music is not from Apple, it’s really bad.
2. Equalization is better (it comes with premium package) you’ll need this for genres like classic rock, guitar driven music. Todays equipment are so define and designed for a bid bass sound that is not compatible with other genres, that’s where a graphic EQ comes handy, even a simple one. The Apple pre built EQ offering is the worst preset settings I have use in my life.
3. When you set the app for high quality sound there is no difference with Apple Music, at least for the genre of music I like.
4. Apple keeps pushing you recommending genres of music that you are not interested in. I don’t know why this happens but it does.
5. Better search algorithm.

When Apple release a graphic EQ and update the app to a better user experience I will give it a try, for now I have found Spotify a better option.

 

[FelixTheShepherd]

Apple Music has lossless with the base subscription. The fact that Spotify doesn't even have the feature let alone locking it behind another "tier" is enough reason for me to use Apple Music.

 

[ct2k7]

Apple Music has lossless with the base subscription. The fact that Spotify doesn't even have the feature let alone locking it behind another "tier" is enough reason for me to use Apple Music.

It depends on what you want - if you care about music discovery and a better UI, then Spotify is the way forward, if you care about quality of music and the Apple ecosystem, the Apple Music is better.

Of course, if you're listening to Apple Music without the correct equipment, then it's a bit futile anyway.

 

[alpi123]

How does Spotify compare to Apple Music? I’ve never dived into it.

I’d hate to put even 3 free months into making playlists and gathering song just to find I don’t like it.

Spotify is completely free to use... you only need to pay for the Premium if you want to download your songs offline or have unlimited skips (also no adds on your songs)

 

[Cromulent]

Of course, if you're listening to Apple Music without the correct equipment, then it's a bit futile anyway.

Yeah. I bought a dedicated DAC and high-end headphones to get the best out of Apple Music.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

All the streaming services have a broadly similar catalogue of music. Where Spotify comes into its own is for discovery of new music: it's fabulous, streets ahead of the competition.

Personally I find YouTube Music a lot better for discovery of new music, both in terms of it’s algorithms and recommendations, but also because it has a larger catalogue since you get many more songs that aren’t officially released on streaming services e.g. mixtapes or live performances or remixes.

I’ve tried Apple Music, Spotify, and now YTM, and so far YTM is my favourite. Though I must say I do miss the multitude of features that spotify is packed with, they do keep it fresh and add a lot of features all the time, whereas YTM is more of a straight forward music and music video service.

 

[Solomani]

Oh, and the other reason i prefer literally any other music service to apples for streaming is because I have years and years of music on my computer, all linked in to itunes/apple music. Its really great as a catalogue when I want to drift down memory lane, but it means that the suggestions coming to me from apple music are based on that really looooong timeline of music and its hard for me to shape it away from those that are just there for posterity and my general amusement. If I go with any other streaming service then I'm able to build up my listening pleasure based on the things I'm listening to recently, that i really like, without worrying that abba or the carpenters are going to hiccup their way into my feed!

That John Denver album I downloaded 12 years ago will continue to haunt me....

 

[AhRiHmAn]

Of course, if you're listening to Apple Music without the correct equipment, then it's a bit futile anyway.

And yet , on different forums like here or Reddit I always see people swearing sound quality is night and day even on normal AAC quality against Spotify…..
I suspect Apple marketing magic in that , and the fact that it is written « Apple Digital Master » which of course changes everything 😏

 

[LeeW]

I prefer Spotify but it depends on what you want from a service of this type. I don't have specific preferences down to an artist level. I just want to listen to relevant tracks suited to me and leave it on autopilot.

After using Spotify for a while and specifically picking out preferred listening it discovers music I like entirely on its own. Offering daily and weekly playlists that are spot on every time.

Apple Music does not even come close, I have tried it several times using their 3-month free trial and stopped it within a few weeks. It is what it is, one service is better for some than another.

It would even make more financial sense to use Apple Music with their One Subscription.

 

[ArkSingularity]

Spotify might actually sound slightly worse over bluetooth on Apple devices due to the way that Apple locks down codecs. Spotify uses Ogg Vorbis at up to 320kbps (which is a great codec actually, one of the most efficient codecs ever created and often considered superior to AAC), but Apple only supports AAC on bluetooth devices and forces everything to re-encode as AAC at 256kbps regardless of its source codec. This is still a great bitrate and a great codec (Apple Music itself uses AAC 256kbps), but the re-encoding process itself is where there is some amount of quality loss (more so than if it had initially been streamed in AAC, akin to re-saving JPEGs).

This isn't necessarily as bad as it sounds though. Most commodity bluetooth devices only support SBC and AAC anyway (of which AAC is definitely the superior format, SBC is the "lowest common denominator" but it is very lossy in comparison and rarely used). It's on higher end bluetooth devices where more advanced bluetooth codecs are often supported, and that's where iPhones can't take advantage of them due to the fact that they will only connect via AAC or SBC. For most commodity devices, this isn't really all that noticeable anyway, as the re-encoding penalty is relatively small at higher bitrates (such as those that are used over bluetooth, where most listeners are not likely to be able to perceive any measurable loss.) And for those using wired headphones or sound systems, Spotify might actually sound better than Apple Music due to superior codecs at higher bitrates.

Personally, I use Spotify across all my devices and have been very happy with it. The quality is still great to my ears, and I find the UI to be much easier to use.

 

[alien3dx]

How does Spotify compare to Apple Music? I’ve never dived into it.

I’d hate to put even 3 free months into making playlists and gathering song just to find I don’t like it.

i like it mah.. compare apple music.