It feels like a new streaming service pops up every single day. As of March 2025, we distribute to 84 music streaming platforms – and that number grows regularly. So with that much choice out there, how can you know which music streaming service is best for you? What’s the best music streaming service for listeners? What’s the best music streaming service for artists? What’s the most popular music streaming service? Those are all really great questions – keep reading to find out the answers! Spotify: the most popular music streaming service Spotify Pros ✅ Huge user base✅ Personalised new music discovery✅ Best artist promotional features Spotify Cons ❌ No high-res audio (yet)❌ Relatively low streaming earnings Of the 7 music streaming services we’re comparing here, Spotify has more monthly active listeners than the rest combined – so yeah, Spotify’s kind of a big deal. It’s the platform you probably think of first when you hear ‘music streaming’, and it’s the platform most people have at least tried using at some point in their lives. But is it the best music streaming service? It’s definitely the most popular – which, as an artist, means it has the biggest audience ready-and-waiting to discover your music. Spotify also leads the pack in terms of discoverability, with a strong personalised algorithm and the ability for artists to opt tracks into Discovery Mode for even greater reach. Spotify is arguably the most innovative platform, in the sense that most other music streaming platforms follow-suit with Spotify’s features. It supports music videos, has a free (ad-funded) plan, and has probably the most comprehensive suite of promotional tools for artists too (including Spotify’s Campaign Kit). For most average listeners of music, Spotify is a great choice of streaming platform. For most artists, releasing music on Spotify is a must, simply because of its huge user base. Spotify Factsheet ? Listeners: 675 million? Music Discoverability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐? Library Size: 100 million+? Streaming Revenues Paid in 2024: ~$3 per 1,000 streams? Free to Listen? ✅? Music Videos Supported? ✅? Artist Promotion Features? ✅ Apple Music: the best for Apple users Apple Music Pros ✅ Lossless & spatial audio supported✅ Integrates with downloaded music✅ Great for Apple OS Apple Music Cons ❌ Less new music discoverability❌ Only ideal for Apple users❌ Limited artist promotion features Apple Music might only have less than a sixth of the users Spotify has, but it’s still worth considering as a top contender in the battle for best music streaming service – particularly if you’re already bought into the Apple ecosystem. With support for lossless and spatial audio, music videos and the option to seamlessly integrate downloaded music into your Apple Music app, it’s got the basics and more covered. However, as you’d expect from a music streaming service that’s basically an add-on to Apple’s core products, it lacks innovation in some areas. New music discoverability is not as good as Spotify’s, although certainly better than some of the smaller platforms in this guide, and Apple Music’s support for artists running promotional campaigns on their music is less sophisticated and extensive than Spotify’s. For listeners who already use iPhones, iPads, AirPods and any other Apple product, Apple Music is a great option that will seamlessly sync across devices. For artists, releasing music on Apple Music is worthwhile for higher audio quality and the ability to reach die-hard Apple fans. Apple Music Factsheet ? Listeners: 93 million? Music Discoverability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐? Library Size: 100 million+? Streaming Revenues Paid in 2024: ~$6.20 per 1,000 streams? Free to Listen? ❌? Music Videos Supported? ✅? Artist Promotion Features? ✅ Amazon Music: the best for Amazon Prime subscribers Amazon Music Pros ✅ High-res audio supported✅ Integrates with Alexa devices✅ Great for Amazon Prime members Amazon Music Cons ❌ No free tier❌ No music videos❌ Limited new music discoverability Like Apple Music, Amazon Music caters to a particular subset of music listeners: those who already use Amazon and subscribe to Amazon Prime. And, like Apple Music again, the fact that music streaming isn’t the core focus of Amazon’s digital services puts it immediately behind Spotify in terms of popularity, features and support for artists. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Amazon Music supports high-res audio, integrates well with Alexa-powered devices (‘Hey Alexa, play the best independent music released this week’) and hosts a huge library of music. Its limited discoverability features and lack of music video support make it difficult to recommend Amazon Music as a just-as-good alternative to Spotify, but Amazon Music certainly has its place in the music streaming industry and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. For listeners who own Amazon devices, use Amazon regularly and subscribe to Amazon Prime, Amazon Music is likely the best music streaming service. For artists, releasing music on Amazon Music is worthwhile, particularly if your fans prefer high-res audio. Amazon Music Factsheet ? Listeners: 80 million? Music Discoverability: ⭐⭐⭐? Library Size: 100 million+? Streaming Revenues Paid in 2024: ~$8.80 per 1,000 streams? Free to Listen? ❌? Music Videos Supported? ❌? Artist Promotion Features? ✅ (limited) YouTube Music: the best for music videos YouTube Music Pros ✅ Best search features✅ Great for music videos✅ Integrates with Google devices YouTube Music Cons ❌ Poor new music discoverability❌ Disappointing audio quality❌ Compressed streams Clearly, YouTube Music leads the pack when it comes to music videos – but does it stand up to scrutiny in other areas? As the second-most popular music streaming service by quite a margin (Apple Music comes closest at 93 million, versus YouTube Music’s 125 million), clearly YouTube Music has something going for it. YouTube Music is owned by Google, meaning that its search engine is second-to-none, its advertising features use Google’s well-established Ads platform, and it easily integrates with Google devices (‘Hey Google, play my favourite songs’). It boasts that it has ‘songs, covers, remixes, live performances, and content that is hard to find elsewhere’ – and that’s certainly true. However, YouTube Music doesn’t perform quite as well in other areas. […]
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