A lot of people are going to get smart devices for Christmas. That could be a new phone, tablet or speaker. That’s awesome, but not everyone has streaming music accounts which got me thinking – what if someone wants to try before they buy? So I went looking for the options.
YouTube Music
Clearly being well invested in the Google ecosystem, I have YouTube Music running…. well, mostly. I’m still seeing some issues with the app when attached to Android Auto, but stand alone its ready for daily use.
There’s a 1 month free trial of the premium YouTube Music Service for users. The caveat on that is that you can’t be an existing Google Play Music or YouTube premium subscriber.
Once your trial is complete if you decide to buy your options are:
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Individual Plan: $11.99 per month
- Family Plan: $22.99 per month (add up to 5 other family members)
- Student Plan: $8.99 per month (eligibility criteria applies)
Spotify
Spotify is the big fish in the streaming music pond. They’ve been around the longest, have – in my opinion at least – the most polished apps across all platforms. They have also got great cross platform capability, including transferring a stream from your phone to your PC or streaming speaker easily.
Being somewhat more generous in their offer or perhaps confident in their product – Spotify offer a full 3 month trial on any account type.
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Individual Plan: $11.99 per month
- Family Plan: $17.99 per month (add up to 5 other family members)
- Student Plan: $5.99 per month (eligibility criteria applies)
Apple Music
An offering from one of the biggest names on the planet. They’ve got an extensive library of music available for streaming and solid functionality. The integration for Apple Music is a lot tighter for users who are completely immersed in the Apple world – Siri, iPhone, iPad, HomePod and Mac options for desktop work. The app works fine on Android but isn’t a realistic option for those who want to use Assistant based speakers.
If you’re only going to use the app on your phone then, it’s worth taking a look at the free trial to see if you like it. After the trial is complete, pricing is competitive with other options.
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Individual Plan: $11.99 per month
- Family Plan: $17.99 per month (add up to 5 other family members)
- Student Plan: $5.99 per month (eligibility criteria applies)
Tidal
Tidal is a relative newcomer to the streaming music market. Owned by Jay-Z and at times having exclusive options on some particular artists there is an allure for a particular niche of listeners.
There is however a very attractive offer on currently for 5 months at $6. Including their HIFI plans which offer high definition streaming for those who really want that feature.
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Individual Plan: USD$9.99 per monthIndividual HIFI Plan: USD$19.99 per month
- Family Plan: USD$14.99 per month (add up to 5 other family members)
- Family Plan: USD$29.99 per month (add up to 5 other family members)
- Student Plan: USD$4.99 per month (eligibility criteria applies)
- Student HIFI Plan: USD$9.99 per month (eligibility criteria applies)
Amazon Music
It’s another option but not widely used, in fact I know a number of people who have trialled Amazon music but reverted to other options for a variety of reasons. Primarily music range, the apps aren’t particularly user friendly and the service doesn’t work with Assistant devices. If you’re well invested in Amazon Echo speakers and Alexa though – you could be on a winner.
Their current offer is another that is quite enticing, 4 months for $0.99.
Once you’ve used up your 4 cheap months, the pricing is pretty sharp.
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Individual Plan: $7.99 per month or $79 per year
- Family Plan: $14.99 per month or $149 per year (add up to 5 other family members)
- Student Plan: $3.99 per month (eligibility criteria applies)
So there’s a quick wrap up of all of the mainstream options for streaming music and current offers. Which one’s will you try, or point friends and family to if they get new devices at Christmas time.
“but isn’t a realistic option for those who want to use Assistant based speakers” Apple Music works on Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod so not really an accurate statement.
In the context of Siri, Alexa and Assistant it is.
You can set Apple Music as default on Alex and Siri and call up/control music.
Siri and Alexa can control AM and also select songs.
The other music services would want to be pretty bloody good to be better then YouTube Music with YouTube Premium giving you no ads on YouTube, download YouTube videos on mobile devices plus more like free Google Nest home minis!
This is definitely my main consideration, but I have found a few artists missing from YouTube music, and not particularly obscure ones at that. Annoying and broadly indicative of the current streaming wars, but Spotify tends to have broader coverage. I’m still on YouTube premium though.