A few weeks ago, I wrote about the newly-debuted Beats Music. Beats joined the streaming music team offering allowing you to stream music through your iOS or Android device with a paid subscription of $9.95/month.
I signed up for a free week to test it out and see if I wanted to make the switch from Spotify (my favorite app ever). However, I didn’t feel like I got a good enough feel for it in just a week.
The fact that you aren’t able to stream music via your computer was a huge downside for me. I sit in front of a computer for 8-9 hours a day, and even though I have my phone right next to me most of the time, I find it kind of a pain to listen to music via my phone when I’m doing everything else on my computer. That said, I mostly listened to it during my commute or while in the kitchen cooking. If we pretend we’re keeping score, I’ll go ahead and give this point to Spotify.
Spotify 1, Beats 0
If you’re an AT&T customer, you’re able to try Beats Music out for 3 months for free (however you do need to provide your credit card information, unlike the 1-week trial). Because of this, I was able to try Beats out for a bit longer to get a better feel for it. The one thing I do really enjoy about the app is their Beats Playlists. For most artists, Beats has created themed playlists for that artist. For instance, if you like Jay Z, you can click on him as an artist and then browse the number of playlists that Beats has put together. If I feel like listening to some old school Jay, I might try out Jay Z: the 1990s. I’ll give Beats this point.
Spotify 1, Beats 1
I talked a little bit about the design of Beats in my last article. While I do like the overall look and feel of it, I find it a bit more complicated to use. I find the app to be pretty in depth with a lot of options and features. This could be a plus for some, but to me, it’s a bit overwhelming.
“The sentence” is a pretty cool feature, though — you put in your mood, who you’re with, and what you feel like listening to and it generates a “radio station” for you. You also have the artist playlists like I mentioned earlier, as well as genres, activities, and curators that contain hundreds of playlists ready for you. All great features of the app for the music lover who wants to explore new music.
Again, I think if they had this as an app for my computer, I’d be more inclined to peruse the playlists to play while I work throughout the day. Gonna have to give another point to Spotify here.
Spotify 2, Beats 1
The Beats Music app is still in the early stages, so there are a few bugs that they need to work out. I’ve had it crash on me a few times and be verrrrry slow to start playing what I ask of it. However, there have been multiple updates to it since it’s come out, so they’re working on it. Still, my point is going to go with my main squeeze, Spotify.
Spotify 3, Beats 1
And my winner is…Spotify (shocking)! I’ve created a Calendar reminder to cancel my subscription to Beats Music come April. I’ll keep it for the 3 months I have it for free, but don’t think I’ll pay for it. I’m used to Spotify, have created a couple dozen playlists that I love and having it on both my computer and my phone is the real plus. That said, I definitely think people should try out Beats Music if they are into the streaming music scene. They might find that it fits their needs better than Spotify does!
Happy listening!