There are very many music streaming applications in the world right now. It is the wish of every app developer that their music streaming app gets the proper recognition. However, most of them go unrecognized. Two popular music streaming applications have gained a lot of reputation and are reaping huge profits in the music streaming industry. The two apps are Spotify and Pandora. The two are created to facilitate music streaming and to allow the users to discover and listen to music, both new and old.
Spotify is used around the globe by over 140 million users. It was launched in the year 2008 by two Swedish businessmen who wanted to listen to all their favourite music under one roof. Today it has grown to be the most successful and popular music streaming app.
Pandora, on the other hand, debuted in 2000 and it introduced new standards for streaming music. Pandora is more of radio streaming application. The two apps are excellent to use when it comes to music streaming, but they are also different from each other. For paid subscribers, it is essential to know which app the gives you value for your money.
Music sharing
The two applications allow their users to share their favourite songs and playlist to their friends on social media. With Pandora, the sharing of favourite playlist and radio is restricted to only Facebook and Twitter.
Spotify gives its user a lot of options to share their favourite songs. Spotify users are allowed to share individual songs and even the entire playlist to across all social media platforms. Spotify also has barcodes, which when scanned will with a phone, will show song data. It is no doubt that Spotify wins this category with a slide.
Discovering music
There is a massive pool of music online. Users want to find both new and old music with ease.
Pandora is well known for its music discovery features. The music genome project is the engine responsible for providing Pandora users with songs based on a variety of variables. The engine also helps the users create their playlist. Apart from streaming and discovering music using Pandora, you can also listen to the radio.
Spotify, on the other hand, is implementing new features for their app to ensure that the user keeps discovering new music. Spotify has a “discover weekly” playlist which contains 30 songs you are likely to like, and it appears every Monday. Also, Spotify has a discover tab with music recommendation based on your listening history.
Subscriptions
The two music streaming apps offer both free and paid subscriptions. A free Pandora account limits the user to listen to the radio. With a free Pandora account subscription, you can like or dislike the song. The free subscription has numerous adverts, and the user can only stream low-quality audio which is limited to 64k AAC+. For paid subscriptions, Pandora premium subscription is 10$ a month for ad-free radio stations and on-demand streaming and 60-day free trial. Also, there is Pandora plus service that offers 30 days free trial, ad-free radio stations but has no on-demand streaming for 5$
Spotify also has a lot of ads, and the audio quality is not that good. The difference between Spotify and Pandora is that with Spotify you can enjoy and listen to music on demand, which is up to 15 playlists for mobile users. Spotify premium service offer30 days free trial for only10$ a month.
Cost
As earlier said, these two music streaming applications offer a free subscription to their users. The free versions are full of adverts, and there is a need to eradicate them. To remove and stop the ads you have to upgrade to premium. The premium subscription for Pandora is 5$ per month, and that of Spotify is 10$ a month.
Location
It is essential to consider your location before deciding to use any of the two apps, which is Pandora and Spotify. For instance, Pandora is only available and can be only used by individuals in the United States. On the other hand, Spotify is available in almost all countries across the globe.
Compatibility
Technology is always evolving and changing day in day out. Today, some speakers are WI-FI enabled, so it is vital to ensure that they are compatible with your music or radio streaming app.
User interface
Both apps look great, and their design makes it easy for the user to navigate. Pandora comes in three popular methods, a mobile app for both Android and iOS platforms, in-browser player and desktop program. The Pandora interface allows the user to sort radio stations and have access to background information on artist currently playing.
Spotify also has three apps web, desktop and mobile. There is a search bar for searching music. Also, there is an item bar that allows the user to access playlists, radio stations and downloaded songs easily. Spotify also alerts you of new music and music news.
In conclusion, the two music applications are great in their different ways. However, I feel like Pandora is lagging in music streaming despite being created earlier. Pandora is good for radio. You should consider all the necessary factors before subscribing to either.