Spotify is the first name that comes to mind when you think of music streaming apps. Love it or hate it, Spotify is currently the most popular music streaming service, with 515 million users and more than 210 million subscribers, putting it ahead of competitors like Apple Music. But what exactly is Spotify and how does it actually work? We answer all your questions with this in-depth look at what to expect from Spotify.
What is Spotify?
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If you spend even a little time online, you’ve probably heard of Spotify. It is a popular free and paid music streaming service founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Swedish friends Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. Fun fact: The name came about by accident when the partners were shouting names back and forth from different rooms in Ek’s apartment in Stockholm, and Ek misheard one of Lorentzon’s suggestions as “Spotify.” Later they put the meaning back as a combination of video and identification, and there it is.
Today, Spotify is a behemoth streaming service that also offers access to podcasts, videos and highly tailored playlists powered by your unique usage. With several plan tiers to choose from, Spotify’s free version lets you listen to music, podcasts and even videos unlimitedly, so you can explore your tastes without breaking the bank, but you have to put up with ads and limited functionality (more on that below). It offers much more robust paid options (more below), but the free version is more than enough for casual listeners.
Spotify is also very device-versatile, so you can use it on your smartphone, tablet, computer, laptop, TV, smartwatch, game console, and even in your car. You get the expected, intuitive controls like play/pause, next/previous, track/playlist repeat, and save favorites. But that is not all. There’s a lot that Spotify has to offer, so we’ll break down what you can expect.
Spotify features: music, podcasts and more
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Spotify has a huge content library of over 100 million songs in every genre imaginable and 5 million podcasts, so there’s something here for every listener. You can create your own playlists and share them with anyone, but the fun part is that the app will also create playlists tailored to your taste, so you always have something new to explore. But Spotify is all about discovery, and few others do. The Discover Weekly playlist gives you new things to try based on your past listening choices, while the Daily Mixes and Release Radar let you find new songs from your favorite artists based on your listening habits. Spotify recently added a new AI-driven feature called DJ that creates a kind of radio station based on your musical tastes, voiced by Xavier “X” Jernigan, Spotify’s head of cultural partnerships. It’s a fun new way the streaming giant is helping users discover.
Want to find music that fits the occasion? You can filter your search based on genre and mood to find individual songs, public playlists, Spotify playlists, entire albums, and even podcasts. You can create shared playlists to get a mix of your and your friends’ musical tastes, making Spotify more social than other music streaming apps.
Another addition to the social integration is the option to log in to Facebook and the ability to monitor what your friends are listening to to make the whole experience a little more communal. Spotify has also added lyrics directly to the app, so you can have a fun karaoke night without leaving the couch.
Content on Spotify is mostly local, so you can access regional songs and holiday-themed content based on your registered location. For example, a user in the US can find English charts and Christmas songs on the home page, while a user in India can find Bollywood songs and Diwali aartis. However, this does not mean that you cannot access foreign content. Anyone can access most of the library from anywhere, and your recommendations will begin to match your listening patterns over time.
Spotify also does a pretty good job of keeping up with what users might want in its user interface, with a recent redesign (the first in a decade) that brings a more scrolling interface like Instagram or TikTok to the mobile app, while also adding video and audio reviews for songs.
Spotify Plans: Is It Free?
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Spotify has an ad-based free version that gives you full access to the current library, but you have to sit through ad breaks. Some users avoid this problem with an ad blocker, but you can also subscribe to Spotify Premium if you want the ads to disappear, while receiving some cool features like song downloads and unlimited skipping.
In July 2023, Spotify raised its prices in all segments. Spotify plans start at $11 per month for single users and $15 per month for two people living in the same house. This can be useful for couples, roommates, or friends who share a subscription plan while still having separate profiles.
Families can get six accounts for $17 a month as long as they all stay in the same house. The best part about using the Family Plan is that you can block explicit music and get access to Spotify Kids, which has fun, age-appropriate content, so supervision is no longer necessary.
Finally, you have the student plan for $6 a month, which gives you subscriptions to Hulu (with ads) and Showtime along with regular ad-free listening, download options, and unlimited skips.
How do Spotify downloads work?
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When you “download” songs on Spotify with a premium subscription, they are available for offline listening, but cannot be exported to other devices. So you can’t really buy a subscription for one month, download all the songs and delete the app. You must use the app or web player to access the content, even if you are listening offline. Downloaded songs are stored on your device, so make sure you have enough space before you subscribe for offline listening.
Spotify streaming quality
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Spotify lets you choose the streaming quality, so you can choose between recording more data with high-quality music or switching to a lower quality if your connection is weak. Spotify Free delivers 128 Kbps AAC on the web player, while Premium ups that to 256 Kbps.
Streaming on desktop, mobile and tablet starts at 24 Kbps in Low mode and goes up to 160 Kbps when set to High. Premium also starts at 24Kbps in Low mode. but it goes up to 320 Kbps when set to Very High, giving you much higher sound quality. The big question many people may have is whether this level of quality is any good. It really depends on you. CD-quality audio is equal to 1411 Kbps, but most people either can’t tell the difference or don’t care. High-definition audio, such as songs available through services such as Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Qoboz, is often labeled as “better than CD” quality and is significantly superior in sound quality. If the most pristine and detailed sound you can get is most important to you, you might want to look elsewhere.
Podcast quality is standard at 96 Kbps on most devices except web players, where it is boosted to 128 Kbps. In Low mode, this can be reduced to 24 Kbps to save data.
Spotify wrapped
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One of the most popular and long-awaited features for Spotify users is the Spotify Wrapped review at the end of each year. This is a vivid analysis of what you listened to that year worth sharing on social media. It browses your most played songs, favorite artists and most played genres. People from all over the world share their ranking on social media, making it go viral every December.
Spotify also creates a playlist of your best songs of the year so you can listen to your favorite songs on repeat. Along with your own data, you can also see what people collectively listened to the most and stream the best songs of the year. However, if you can’t wait until the end of the year, you can always use a site like Stats for Spotify to focus on your habits throughout the year.
Spotify alternatives
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While Spotify is the best music streaming service out there right now, there are a few alternatives to choose from if Spotify isn’t your thing.
Apple Music
Spotify’s biggest rival, Apple Music offers a huge library of content and podcasts, just like Spotify, although its podcasts are accessed through Apple’s separate app, simply called Podcasts. Its Individual plan is a dollar more than Spotify’s at $11 a month, and it has no free tier at all, but it differs most from Spotify, as mentioned above, by including high-resolution lossless tracks, as well as music in its immersive Dolby Atmos and Spatial formats. Audio. Apple Music has recently added a few new features that may appeal to those taking the plunge, including a new “Sing” feature that lets you and your friends turn Apple Music into a karaoke machine. And for classical music lovers, there is the new Apple Music Classical application, which contains the largest catalog of classical music in the world.
Amazon Music
Amazon Prime subscribers may want to check out Amazon Music, which features around 100 million songs and a wide range of podcasts. The service has a free tier with ads, an ad-free tier if you already have an Amazon Prime membership, and offers several options for a high-resolution lossless tier it calls Music Unlimited. And it starts at $11 per month ($5 per month on top of Prime membership). The interface is similar to that of Spotify, colorful and easy to use, and lets you do similar things like create and share playlists. Apps are available for Android, iOS and desktop.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music is another great option for YouTube fans. The service has a free ad-based tier, and for $10 a month ($100 a year) you can subscribe to YouTube Music Premium, which removes them and lets you continue streaming music while your device’s screen is locked (you can’t during playback music via the usual YouTube application). YouTube Music has an incredible collection of songs, joining its rivals at 100 million, and only recently started adding podcasts to the list. One caveat to keep in mind is the audio quality issue—currently, YouTube Music only reaches 256 Kbps, lower than Spotify’s top speed.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn