Google Play Music vs. Spotify

[Estranged Reality]

I'm at a crossroads where I don't know which service to go with.

I've been using Google Play (free) for a while because it lets you upload all of your songs to the cloud, so anything you have carried over from iTunes shows up. I like the fact that the free service lets you listen to your songs anywhere, streaming, without radio ads etc.

However, recently I started Spotify Premium and I totally dig the software, the "explore" features (the user-generated playlists, etc.), as well as the ability to connect with friends. I've been swapping tracks with my neighbor via Spotify and I really dig that aspect of it.

However, I don't like the fact that Spotify doesn't really let you build a library in the traditional iTunes manner. I mean, you can, but the layout is a little sloppier when it comes to this than Google Music. I feel like Spotify is great for building playlists or saving individual tracks to a library, but not as a go-to all-in-one music library source. Yes, I realize you can access your iTunes library through the desktop client, but I hate how it's under a separate tab.

By comparison, Google Music Premium (i did a one-month free trial in sync with the Spotify trial so I could directly compare them) lets you add music to your library and it shows up directly next to anything you previously uploaded. And if you stop paying the $10/month, you'll lose all those new songs you added to your library -- but you'll still retain anything you uploaded from your own collection, and you don't have to sit through shitty radio ads to listen to them. With Spotify, as soon as I stop paying the $10/month, I have to put up with ads after every other track.

But I'm very torn on which to use, because I still really like the interface and music-recommendation aspect of Spotify. I wish I could merge the best elements from both into one app.

Any of you guys have a favorite between the two?

[dalsh327]

I think they're both works in progress, I probably listen to Spotify more for new stuff and other people's mixes. Major labels in the US (basically anything under Universal, Sony, and Warners) are probably going to go subscription and limit what Spotify can carry.

[Bro-mero]

I orginally used Spotify first

I then switched to Google Play Music

I then briefly switched back to Spotify because there was a $5/month student discount

I then switched back to Google Play Music

I like Google Play Music a little bit more, but i still use the free version of Spotify on my desktop when i'm working on stuff

[magisme]

I've been vehement about torrenting and not paying for music, but I signed up for the free month of Google Play and I might be a convert. Kids these days.

[The Real McCoy]

I don't get the point of paying for music that you don't or can't own.

I'll keep buying CDs and buying individual tracks from iTunes.

[Dan H.]

Apple Music stole me from Spotify.

I'm guessing that's not an option for you, but I'd stick with Spotify until Apple music becomes available for other mobile devices this fall.

The "discover new music" algorithm Apple Music has developed is amazing, it's almost 90% spot on to what I'm feeling. I can pick a song, start a "station" and it is almost always faithful to what I am looking to discover/listen to. And if you know how to use it, you can find a lot of cool indie bands.

In your case I'd stick with Spotify, it has more power behind it than Google Play, and the new update is supposed to be good.

I don't get the point of paying for music that you don't or can't own.

I don't get why people listen to radio, go to movie theatres, zoo's, art museums, or car shows either.

The music part I do get though, $10 a month to discover the entire history of popular music at your finger tips is a pretty good deal honestly.

Edited July 15, 2015 by Dan H.

[The Real McCoy]

Apple Music stole me from Spotify.

I'm guessing that's not an option for you, but I'd stick with Spotify until Apple music becomes available for other mobile devices this fall.

The "discover new music" algorithm Apple Music has developed is amazing, it's almost 90% spot on to what I'm feeling. I can pick a song, start a "station" and it is almost always faithful to what I am looking to discover/listen to. And if you know how to use it, you can find a lot of cool indie bands.

In your case I'd stick with Spotify, it has more power behind it than Google Play, and the new update is supposed to be good.

I don't get the point of paying for music that you don't or can't own.

I don't get why people listen to radio, go to movie theatres, zoo's, art museums, or car shows either.

The music part I do get though, $10 a month to discover the entire history of popular music at your finger tips is a pretty good deal honestly.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I like having a physical item when it comes to recorded media.

[Dan H.]

Apple Music stole me from Spotify.

I'm guessing that's not an option for you, but I'd stick with Spotify until Apple music becomes available for other mobile devices this fall.

The "discover new music" algorithm Apple Music has developed is amazing, it's almost 90% spot on to what I'm feeling. I can pick a song, start a "station" and it is almost always faithful to what I am looking to discover/listen to. And if you know how to use it, you can find a lot of cool indie bands.

In your case I'd stick with Spotify, it has more power behind it than Google Play, and the new update is supposed to be good.

I don't get the point of paying for music that you don't or can't own.

I don't get why people listen to radio, go to movie theatres, zoo's, art museums, or car shows either.

The music part I do get though, $10 a month to discover the entire history of popular music at your finger tips is a pretty good deal honestly.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I like having a physical item when it comes to recorded media.

I'm just being an ass.

I get the sentiment, I'm a vinyl nut.

I get the streaming service to discover new bands and music and broaden my taste as well as having an expansive library of music I love, like, or am curious about.

Then when I'm sure I want to drop a ridiculous amount of money for an album of 8-12 songs, I'll go out and get a nice fat piece of wax with big brilliant cover art for my collection.

[Estranged Reality]

The "discover new music" algorithm Apple Music has developed is amazing, it's almost 90% spot on to what I'm feeling. I can pick a song, start a "station" and it is almost always faithful to what I am looking to discover/listen to. And if you know how to use it, you can find a lot of cool indie bands.

Google Music has been like that for ages. It has the best Instant Playlist/My Recommended Songs features I've ever seen.

I don't pay for the premium service yet because i kind of like having it relegated strictly to my own library. The fact that they allow you to upload up to 50k of your own tracks FOR FREE still, for me, makes it way more enticing than Spotify or Google Music.

I might go back to the $10/month in the future, but the one thing that I didn't like about it was that if you create an instant playlist as a subscriber, it includes music outside of your own library; sometimes that's super cool for discovering new stuff, but sometimes I like the familiarity of my own music and don't necessarily want random stuff I've never heard before to pop up. If they had a way of toggling between these options I'd subscribe again in a heartbeat.

I've been vehement about torrenting and not paying for music, but I signed up for the free month of Google Play and I might be a convert. Kids these days.

Isn't it pretty awesome how you can just throw all your MP3s in the cloud and access them from anywhere? I almost never use iTunes or my iPod anymore.

[magisme]

.

I've been vehement about torrenting and not paying for music, but I signed up for the free month of Google Play and I might be a convert. Kids these days.

Isn't it pretty awesome how you can just throw all your MP3s in the cloud and access them from anywhere? I almost never use iTunes or my iPod anymore.

Yeah, that's pretty great. Takes away my main reason for sticking with the iPod throughout the years.

I'm not loving the recommendations so far. Alicia Keys Radio? John Legend Radio? Go fuck yourself. And when I choose an artist I do like they just play me songs from that artist or projects that artist has been in, for the most part. I haven't done it based on an individual song yet. Maybe that's better.

[Estranged Reality]

I'm not loving the recommendations so far. Alicia Keys Radio? John Legend Radio? Go fuck yourself. And when I choose an artist I do like they just play me songs from that artist or projects that artist has been in, for the most part. I haven't done it based on an individual song yet. Maybe that's better.

You might just need to use it more often -- mine are always pretty spot on. I don't have the premium service so I don't really use them much (I can play the free radio but then I get commercials and I'm fine with my personal library for now) -- but when I did have a trial I used the playlists and always found them to be great.

The individual song auto playlists are pretty cool. Instant Mix is what its called I think.