12 Best Apple Music Alternatives: Top Music Streaming Services in 2024

Published on March 18, 2024 at 11:53 am by Maleha Afzal in Business, Industries, Lists, News

In this article, we will take a look at the 12 best alternatives to Apple Music to stream in 2024. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to 5 Best Apple Music Alternatives: Top Music Streaming Services in 2024.

The Hype Behind Apple Music

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a leading multinational technology company that owns a range of consumer electronics, computer software, and other online services. Apple Music is a product of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The platform is an audio and video streaming service launched in 2015. The platform is home to more than 100 million songs consisting of over 30,000 curated playlists and original content from artists. Users can also create playlists based on personalized mixes and picks. Apple Music offers several plans to its users. The student plan is available for $5.99 per month, the individual plan is available for $10.99 per month, and the family plan is available for $16.99 per month. The family plan accommodates up to six people.

Apple Music recently launched a new feature, Apple Music Sing. Apple Music Sing allows users to be a part of the music. Users can use the feature to control the vocal volume of songs and sing along to them with beat-by-beat lyrics. To sing along users simply need to open the app and tap the lyrics icon on a song. Users can then use the mic icon and slider to alter the vocal volume and then sing along.

Some of the Leading Alternatives to Apple Music

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT), Amazon Music by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and YouTube Music, a product of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), are among the leading music streaming services in 2024. Let’s discuss some updates from these companies. You can also take a look at the best music stocks to buy now.

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) is a leading music streaming platform operator headquartered in Sweden. Users can access music and podcasts on the platform. It is available on iOS, Android, and on desktop. Users can subscribe to the premium version for individuals for $10.99 per month, the duo version for $14.99 per month, the family version for $16.99 per month, and the student version for $5.99 per month. On March 13, Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) announced that the company is set to launch music videos in beta for Spotify Premium users. The feature is only available in eleven markets including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya. If users do not wish to see videos, they can simply click the “Switch to Audio” button. You can also read our piece on the most popular songs on Spotify of all time.

Rowan Street Capital stated the following regarding Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) in its 2023 annual investor letter:

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) is currently selling for about $15 billion. Does this make any sense?” We argued that Spotify stock was extremely mis-priced by the market. That aged pretty well as the current market cap for Spotify is ~$40 billion. Spotify’s stock skyrocketed +138% in 2023, strongly contributing to our outperformance. Spotify surpassed analyst expectations by adding 26% more monthly active users (MAUs) year-over-year in Q3 2023, reaching a total of 489 million (estimated to close the year with 600 million MAUs). This impressive growth solidified Spotify’s position as the world’s leading music streaming platform. Investors also applauded Spotify’s bid to improve profitability by suspending its podcasting spending spree and implementing cost-cutting measures, including layoffs, which reduced operating expenses.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) offers some of the most technologically equipped products. YouTube Music is a product of YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). YouTube Music is among the leading music streaming platforms in the world. On February 1, YouTube Music announced that the platform had crossed 100 million subscribers. The platform was launched in 2015 and is available in more than 100 countries and regions. The company has a premium playback experience, allowing users to watch YouTube across several devices. YouTube Music also launched several generative AI features including a conversational AI and an AI tool that summarizes comments. Additional features include a samples tab, a faster way to discover new music, a customized radio-building experience, and bought podcasts.

Amazon Music is a product of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Amazon Music streamers gain access to more than 100 million songs. Users can also listen to podcasts on the platform. Amazon Prime members can subscribe to Amazon Music for as low as $9.99 per month. Non-Prime members must pay $10.99 per month to subscribe to Amazon Music. The platform also offers a family plan costing $14.99 per month. Users can also use Amazon Music for free. However, the free version comes with ads. Amazon Music offers a unique and immersive listening experience to users with its spatial audio feature. The spatial audio feature allows users to listen to music with high definition and depth. Users can switch between the spatial and stereo versions. Amazon Music also ensures that streamers are listening to music the way the original artist intended, ensuring the music is rich and more clear.

Now that we have discussed the music industry, without further ado, let’s take a look at the 12 best alternatives to Apple Music to stream in 2024. You can also read our piece on the biggest music festivals in the world.

12 Best Apple Music Alternatives: Top Music Streaming Services in 2024

Our Methodology

To come up with the 12 best alternatives to Apple Music to stream in 2024, we employed a consensus approach. We consulted more than 10 rankings on the internet to aggregate the best alternatives to Apple Music. Of them, we picked items that appeared in 50% of our sources. We then ranked our items based on the average customer star rating and the total number of reviews across two sources including the Google Play Store and App Store. It is to be noted that we only included software with total reviews of more than 10,000. Our list of the 12 best alternatives to Apple Music to stream in 2024 is in ascending order of the average customer star rating as a primary metric, and the total number of reviews as a secondary metric.

12 Best Apple Music Alternatives: Top Music Streaming Services in 2024

12. Amazon Music

Average Customer Star Rating: 3.95

Total Number of Reviews: 6,171,130

Amazon Music ranks 12th on our list of the best music streaming services in the world. The platform is home to more than 100 million songs. Users can listen to ad-free music by subscribing to the Amazon Prime membership.

11. IDAGIO

Average Customer Star Rating: 4.35

Total Number of Reviews: 17,769

IDAGIO is a classical music streaming application, The platform was founded in 2015 and is based in Germany. The leading music streaming application is home to more than 2 million tracks. IDAGIO has an average customer star rating of 4.35.

10. LiveOne

Average Customer Star Rating: 4.4

Total Number of Reviews: 387,124

LiveOne, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVO) is a global digital media company for music and other entertainment services. The LiveOne app allows users to stream music and podcasts. Users can also watch videos and stream live content for free. LiveOne has an average customer star rating of 4.4 based on 387,124 reviews.

9. Pandora

Average Customer Star Rating: 4.4

Total Number of Reviews: 13,445,368

Pandora is one of the best alternatives to Apple Music. The platform is a subscription-based music streaming service. The two paid platforms include Pandora Premium and Pandora Plus. By subscribing users can listen to music without having access to the internet. Users can access the platform on all Android and iOS devices as well as on desktops.

8. Tidal

Average Customer Star Rating: 4.45

Total Number of Reviews: 478,635

Tidal ranks eighth on our list of the best music streaming platforms in the world. The platform is home to more than 100 million high-quality songs. The platform is targeted at artists and fans. Tidal offers several plans such as HiFi and HiFi Plus.

7. Deezer

Average Customer Star Rating: 4.5

Total Number of Reviews: 3,361,154

Deezer is one of the best platforms to stream music. It gives users access to more than 120 million tracks across the globe. Deezer is based in France and is available in more than 180 countries. The platform offers a 7-day free trial. The premium version is available for $11.99 per month. Users are able to cancel their subscriptions at any time.

6. Qobuz

Average Customer Star Rating: 4.55

Total Number of Reviews: 49,654

Qobuz ranks sixth on our list of the best alternatives to Apple Music. The platform is home to more than 100 million tracks. Users can stream unlimited high-quality music on the platform. It is based in France and is now owned by Xandrie SA. It has an average customer star rating of 4.55.

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