Haznos
Gone are the days of CDs and the space needed to store them. Nowadays the most popular way to listen to music is via an online music streaming service.
If you listen to music at home and have a broadband connection or listen to music on the move and have a large data package, this is the way to go.
There are many free options available. However, these usually have advertisement support and/or metered listening, which can spoil your listening experience.
It is also important to note that using a free streaming service means you do not own the music as you would if you were to download it. However, several paid subscription online music streaming services offer the option you to download music too. Therefore allowing you to listen anywhere, at any time even without a data connection.
The Benefits of Streaming Music
There are many benefits for listeners when it comes to streaming music, especially if you listen to music regularly.
Free music streaming services are perfect for those who use it infrequently and do not mind the regular advertisements.
If you are willing to pay for a service, the more you use it the more cost-effective it becomes if you consider the cost per play. Also, because the number of online music streaming services available are increasing, competition is rising which means you as the customer is likely to pick up a great subscription deal.
Whether you opt for a free or paid-for service, online streaming makes music more accessible, allows you to discover new artists and songs and does not take up space on your smartphone or hard drive.
Which Online Music Streaming Service is right for me?
As there are several online music streaming services to choose from, deciding which is the best for you can be difficult. Therefore here are three you could consider together with the benefits of each.
TIDAL
Launched in 2014, TIDAL is an artist-owned online music streaming service available in 53 countries. Its catalogue boasts over 60 million songs and over 250,00 high-quality videos. If offers premium and high-fidelity sound quality together with thousands of playlists, exclusive content and unique experiences. TIDAL is offering 50% discount now to try their exclusive service.
TIDAL does not offer a free streaming service. However, you can opt for TIDAL Premium which offers premium sound quality and TIDAL Hi-Fi which offers Hi-Fi sound quality if you are looking for a subscription-based online streaming service.
Deezer
Deezer offers three packages.
Deezer Free allows you to access 56 million tracks, create and share playlists and shuffle play. Deezer Premium (paid service) allows additional functionality including play on-demand, cross-device listening, offline listening and an ad-free experience.
Deezer also offers Deezer Family (paid service) which offers all the benefits of Deezer Premium with the bonus of getting up to 6 individual accounts allowing each listener to create their own playlists.
Spotify
Spotify, a Swedish music streaming service is possibly the most well-known service with over 248 million monthly active users and 113 million subscribers.
Spotify offers a free service which is supported by advertisements. It allows users to access over 50 million songs together with over 700,000 podcasts. Spotify Premium (paid service) offers a number of options depending on how many users, who live in the same house, require an account. A student option is also available at a discounted price.
