Compare Apple Streaming to Spotify, Tidal, Rdio Rhapsody and Pandora
Apple: predicted by June 30, there will be 100 million subscribers.
More than 30 million songs
All others stream at a rate of 320kbps. Apple will only streat at 256kbps. 320kbps takes more data and most ears can’t pick out the difference.
$9.99/month, free version and family discount available, no student discount available.
Spotify: 20 million subscribers
More than 30 million songs. Taylor Swift recently pulled her catalog from Spotify claiming she was not being fairly reimbursed for her work. Spotify is now left with a blank space
$9.99/month, free version, student discount and family discount available
Tidal: It is unclear how many subscribers, Jay-Z claimed the service has 770,000 subscribers
More than 30 million songs but has extras like exclusive content from Beyonce, Nicki Manaj and founder Jay-Z
$9.99/month for premium
$19.99/month for “HiFi”
Student discount available
RDIO: speculation of about 500,000 subscribers
More than 32 million songs
$3.99/month for ad-free radio with unlimited skips
$9.99/month for unlimited
Free version, student discount, family discount
Rhapsody: more than 2.5 million paying subscribers
More than 32 million songs
$4.99/month for ad-free radio with unlimited skips
$9.99/month for premium
No free version, student discounts or family discounts
Pandora: had 81.5 million active users in 2014
1 million songs
$4.99/month or $54.89/year for ad-free radio with unlimited skips.
Free version available, no student discount or family discount
What sets Apple Music apart?
Beats1 Radio will be 24/7 live radio broadcast from Los Angeles, London and NYC. The station will be curate by celebrity DJs.
Connect aims to be sort of a social media platform for artists. On their pages, artists can share lyrics, photos, etc.
Integration: Plenty of people still use iTunes and Apple Music is a place to integrate your iTunes music with what you stream.
Sources: Apple, Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody, TIDAL, Pandora, Huffington Post