Beyond Spotify: the best four music apps

Music is a practically indispensable art in daily life, whether it is to lighten the trips on public transport, to enliven the experience during cleaning, or simply the background for a social gathering. Music is always there in the form of various genres, and streaming music apps have become the most common way to port music in smartphones.

Despite Spotify being the most downloaded of all, there are other renowned and quality alternatives.

1. YouTube Music

Everyone knows YouTube, in fact it is the most used Social Network in Latin America, as 90% of active users on networks use this platform, according to Hootsuite. However, YouTube has decided to reinvent its app for streaming music, with the intention of migrating Google Play Music users to this service.

YT Music offers playlists based on your musical tastes and relevance. It is necessary to purchase the premium version to avoid ads and continue listening to music outside the app, with a price of US$ 12 per month you will have access to 50 million songs at a maximum quality of 256 kbps.

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It should be noted that when referring to the quality of the audio through a figure of kbps (kilobits per second), this has to do with how compressed the audio is to allow it to become a file, the more kbps it has, the greater it is the amount of detail the music will offer but will also be heavier, according to Techlandia.

2. Deezer

A major competitor in the world of streaming music is Deezer, which has 56 million tracks on its platform. It has several pluses, such as being able to see the lyrics of the songs, a music detector to know which song is playing outside the app, called "SongCatcher", and of course, create a mix of songs suitable to your tastes.

For US$ 6 a month -with the first three months free- you can have access to Deezer Premium without ads and with the possibility of downloading music to enjoy it offline.

Deezer Premium provides maximum 320 kbps MP3 audio quality. For "audiophiles" or lovers of good sound, Deezer offers a US$ 12 HiFi plan per month -with the first month free- in which you will have songs with FLAC quality. This format consists of audio files without any loss of quality, that is, as if you played it from an original CD, which is equivalent to 1,411 kbps. It is ideal for a good sound system.

Likewise, this plan includes music with 360 Reality Audio technology, designed to be heard through compatible headphones for an "immersive" experience, according to the Deezer official site.

3. Apple Music

The American giant also participates in the world of music and this time it is not only for its iOS devices. Android users have the app available in the Google Play Store. Apple has a repertoire of 60 million songs and is the second music app with the most users.

The company does not offer a free plan and its monthly payment is $ 10. One of the main advantages of Apple Music is the exclusivity of music. For example: Taylor Swift, her songs premiere first on the Apple platform and can then be released on others, according to Digital Trends. The audio quality offered by Apple Music is 256 kbps.

4. Tidal

One of the least known, but not for lack of quality. Tidal is recognized for the high fidelity of its audios, this service goes a little further than Deezer, offering a HiFi plan with FLAC format tracks, it also includes thousands of albums and master quality playlists.

What does this mean? The songs double the quality of the CD and reach recording studio quality, with all the details the artist wants, according to FayerWayer. Other important advantages of Tidal is that it goes beyond playlists and more, broadcasting exclusively live concerts, allowing access to the purchase of tickets for concerts or other events before anywhere else, as well as having interviews and behind-the-scenes artist encounters.

Also read: How are women in music doing?

Its weak point? As expected, it is the price. The standard plan is US$ 10 a month and your HiFi plan – which includes Master content – costs US$ 20. This price difference with the rest of the other platforms is not only due to its 60 million tracks, audio quality and exclusive content, but Tidal pays a higher percentage to the artists.