Amazon Prime OR Apple Music?

[WinkWink726]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in an appropriate forum, but I really hate Pandora's new paid version (I just hate the way its set up; its not nearly as user-friendly as it used to be. I used to zoom around within that app and now I just hate it).

Anyhow, I'm considering subscribing to either Apple Music or Amazon Prime (for its music feature as well as the other features).

Does anybody use either service?

If you do use either, can you offer a PROS/CONS list based on your experiences and preferences?

Thanks, all

 

[M5RahuL]

I use Google Music (paid) that also includes YouTube Red (no ads) and youTube music

I find that package works best for my needs.

 

[Makayla]

I have Amazon Prime, not Apple Music. To me they are very different products.

Prime is not so much for music but more for online shopping and entertainment. It gives you that famous free 2-day shipping on Amazon and free select TV shows, kindle books and even some live sports, plus minor benefits like occasional $5, $10 credit to use on Amazon, free membership to whole foods.

I don't know if Apple Music offers anything other than music but the music selection is larger I believe.

If you are mainly after music I suggest you get on a free trial to sample each music selection before you decide.

 

[ozaz]

Do you mean Amazon Prime Music or Amazon Music Unlimited?
Prime music has a relatively small catalogue. As noted earlier in the thread it’s just a bonus add on to Prime. Amazon Music Unlimited is a dedicated streaming service with a catalogue comparable to Apple Music: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/amazon-music-unlimited-prime-music-difference/

All the services which cost around $10/month have substantial music catalogues and the main differentiators are interface and features such as new music discovery and playlists. Some services also have unique features as noted above for Google Music. I feel you have to try the services yourself and decide which one you like as different people definitely value different aspects. This is straightforward as they all have free trials.

However, from memory, when I tried Amazon Music Unlimited I remember it being fine. It didn’t have any standout features but also didn’t have any glaring issues. If I recall correctly, new music discovery was not as impressive as some other services, but a strong positive is it’s around 20% cheaper than other streaming services at around $8/month.

Apple Music is good for new Music Discovery and Radio features. For me, the big downside (and dealbreaker) is lack of Chromecast support.

I would also suggest trying Spotify, Google Play Music, Deezer, and Tidal.

 

[convergent]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in an appropriate forum, but I really hate Pandora's new paid version (I just hate the way its set up; its not nearly as user-friendly as it used to be. I used to zoom around within that app and now I just hate it).

Anyhow, I'm considering subscribing to either Apple Music or Amazon Prime (for its music feature as well as the other features).

Does anybody use either service?

If you do use either, can you offer a PROS/CONS list based on your experiences and preferences?

Thanks, all

I prefer Spotify.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I prefer Spotify.

Currently, I have a Spotify and Google Music subscription. Along with the limited Amazon Music steaming that's free with prime.

I have to give Spotify credit, they are like the Facebook of music streaming. It's the most integrated service. Damn near every hardware/software is compatible. Whether it's a smart TV, home assistant device, game console, smartwatch, and etc. It's also the easiest to switch sound output to whatever device. Even Waze maps has Spotify integration which works very well. Their available music seems better than even Apple music in my experience. I also like the fact that you can pay yearly if you want.

Goggle Music is my second favorite. I'm fortunate enough to keep finding 3-6 month free trial deals on it. Haven't pay for Google Music for at least a year. I like the UI the best since it fits the overall Google style. It also does something Spotify doesn't do well, with is play local music files on mobile. You have to connect to the same network on as your computer then download local files with the mobile app. Google music just detects any local music on your internal or SD storage without the need to do that. Also, Google Music has their free upload service, that you can stream from anywhere.

Amazon Music service that comes with Prime gives you a pretty decent selection for being a limited service. The downside is, even the full paid service is limited in selection compared to Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Music. The upside to having Prime is they have a limited Movie streaming service too, which is not bad. I use the Music and Movie streaming that comes with Prime on occasion. I treat it more like a backup service.

Apple Music is great on iOS and MacOS. But the software is not that great on Android and PC. Also, the least integrated and compatible outside of the Apple bubble.

 

[WinkWink726]

Currently, I have a Spotify and Google Music subscription. Along with the limited Amazon Music steaming that's free with prime.

I have to give Spotify credit, they are like the Facebook of music streaming. It's the most integrated service. Damn near every hardware/software is compatible. Whether it's a smart TV, home assistant device, game console, smartwatch, and etc. It's also the easiest to switch sound output to whatever device. Even Waze maps has Spotify integration which works very well. Their available music seems better than even Apple music in my experience. I also like the fact that you can pay yearly if you want.

Goggle Music is my second favorite. I'm fortunate enough to keep finding 3-6 month free trial deals on it. Haven't pay for Google Music for at least a year. I like the UI the best since it fits the overall Google style. It also does something Spotify doesn't do well, with is play local music files on mobile. You have to connect to the same network on as your computer then download local files with the mobile app. Google music just detects any local music on your internal or SD storage without the need to do that. Also, Google Music has their free upload service, that you can stream from anywhere.

Amazon Music service that comes with Prime gives you a pretty decent selection for being a limited service. The downside is, even the full paid service is limited in selection compared to Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Music. The upside to having Prime is they have a limited Movie streaming service too, which is not bad. I use the Music and Movie streaming that comes with Prime on occasion. I treat it more like a backup service.

Apple Music is great on iOS and MacOS. But the software is not that great on Android and PC. Also, the least integrated and compatible outside of the Apple bubble.

Thanks for all of the replies and input!
This post was super informative!

I am talking about the Amazon Prime which offers music/movie content.
Amazon has some decent perks, but I don't want to hate the service either; I wish they all offered free trials.

Can anyone speak from experience about how any of them may integrate the apple watch into their services?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Thanks for all of the replies and input!
This post was super informative!

I am talking about the Amazon Prime which offers music/movie content.
Amazon has some decent perks, but I don't want to hate the service either; I wish they all offered free trials.

Can anyone speak from experience about how any of them may integrate the apple watch into their services?

Both Apple Music and Spotify can play offline(downloaded music and playlist) directly from the watch. So you can play music directly from the Apple Watch to BT headphones or speaker without the need for the iPhone to be connected.

I think Apple just added the feature to stream(non downloaded) Apple Music directly from the Apple Watch without the need for the iPhone to be connected. Whether from Wifi or if you have a series 3 LTE version. I recently sold my series 2 right before OS4 was released, so you should ask those in the Apple Watch section about this. I do know this is something that can be done with Spotify on Android Wear and Samsung Tizen smartwatches. I don't think it can be done on Apple Watch yet with Spotify.

As far as remote control from the Apple Watch, I don't remember Google Music or Amazon Music having an Apple Watch app, but you can still remotely control the playback through the default audio display. You will not have access to playlists, searches, or any offline direct play available from the Apple Watch, as you would with Apple Music and Spotify.

 

[apolloa]

Thanks for all of the replies and input!
This post was super informative!

I am talking about the Amazon Prime which offers music/movie content.
Amazon has some decent perks, but I don't want to hate the service either; I wish they all offered free trials.

Can anyone speak from experience about how any of them may integrate the apple watch into their services?

Try Prime, you can try it for free as I understand? I’m not sure if you can try Apple Music for free?
I use Amazon music now and then, the one included with Prime, it seems to work ok for me.
But Apple Music will integrate with all your Apple devices and have a ton of tracks on it.

 

[ozaz]

I wish they all offered free trials.

Try Prime, you can try it for free as I understand? I’m not sure if you can try Apple Music for free?

All streaming services have free trials, don’t they?

 

[apolloa]

All streaming services have free trials, don’t they?

I wasn’t sure with Apple Music though as I thought it only had its free three months for a limited time?

 

[ozaz]

I wasn’t sure with Apple Music though as I thought it only had its free three months for a limited time?

The 3 month new user trial is still available, at least it is in the UK.

 

[WinkWink726]

Try Prime, you can try it for free as I understand? I’m not sure if you can try Apple Music for free?
I use Amazon music now and then, the one included with Prime, it seems to work ok for me.
But Apple Music will integrate with all your Apple devices and have a ton of tracks on it.

Problem is a used up my Amazon Prime free trial a long while ago, far before I was ever interested in streaming

The 3 month new user trial is still available, at least it is in the UK.

When I was last on the page for Apple Music (on my phone), I didn't see anything for a free trial, but I just checked the page and there is one! Thank you for that!!!

 

[ozaz]

Problem is a used up my Amazon Prime free trial a long while ago, far before I was ever interested in streaming

A lot of services count you as a new user for trial/special-offer purposes if you haven't subscribed for 12-months. I actually use this to cycle between several services and as a result only pay a few months full-price streaming fees over the course of a year. So it might be worth trying to see if you can setup a new trial.

Alternatively, sign up for the Amazon Music Unlimited trial. This is basically the same as Prime Music, but with a larger catalog.

 

[apolloa]

Problem is a used up my Amazon Prime free trial a long while ago, far before I was ever interested in streaming


When I was last on the page for Apple Music (on my phone), I didn't see anything for a free trial, but I just checked the page and there is one! Thank you for that!!!

May be best to give the trials a go, you can always make up an email address to try Amazon with, just remember to cancel it after the trial.

 

[SigEp265]

I use Google Music (paid) that also includes YouTube Red (no ads) and youTube music

I find that package works best for my needs.

I love google music. I enjoy being able to upload my own music as well.

 

[eyeseeyou]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in an appropriate forum, but I really hate Pandora's new paid version (I just hate the way its set up; its not nearly as user-friendly as it used to be. I used to zoom around within that app and now I just hate it).

Anyhow, I'm considering subscribing to either Apple Music or Amazon Prime (for its music feature as well as the other features).

Does anybody use either service?

If you do use either, can you offer a PROS/CONS list based on your experiences and preferences?

Thanks, all

Search ebay for : Premium Spotify account. You're welcome. lol

 

[SigEp265]

Search ebay for : Premium Spotify account. You're welcome. lol

How are those sellers able to make premium accounts for only $10 a year?

 

[eyeseeyou]

How are those sellers able to make premium accounts for only $10 a year?

Basically you’re added to a family account.

 

[dumastudetto]

Apple Music has the deepest library, more exclusives, better sound quality, and its discovery technologies are untouchable.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Apple Music has the deepest library, more exclusives, better sound quality, and its discovery technologies are untouchable.

Being a subscriber of both Apple Music and Spotify I can’t argue any of what you listed but the Spotify UI is just easier and imo a better user experience.

 

[WinkWink726]

Apple Music has the deepest library, more exclusives, better sound quality, and its discovery technologies are untouchable.

When you say "discovery technologies", are you referring to how Pandora has "Thumbprint Radio"?

 

[ozaz]

Apple Music has the deepest library, more exclusives, better sound quality, and its discovery technologies are untouchable.

I think what someone considers best music discovery tools will be somewhat subjective. I particularly like Spotify’s Discovery weekly and Release radar playlists, which are personalised playlists that are automatically updated on a weekly basis, and can’t find anything similar in Apple Music. For this reason I rate Spotify best for new music discovery. I do think Apple’s presentation of recommended artists and albums is better than Spotify’s though, do to the short description it provides for each album.

What do you mean by deepest library? There are other services which seem to have larger catalogs (Tidal and Deezer).
[doublepost=1514627919][/doublepost]

When you say "discovery technologies", are you referring to how Pandora has "Thumbprint Radio"?

I’ve never used Pandora, but have just looked at their blog post for thumbprint radio. It looks a lot like Deezer Flow and Google Play Music’s I’m feeling feeling lucky mix. Of these two, I think Deezer Flow is better with Google’s I’m feeling lucky mix being a bit too heavily biased to music you are already familiar with.

Spotify has a daily mix feature which is somewhat similar but they provide six daily mixes instead of just one. I’m not keen on this as I think the value of things like thumbprint radio is the removal of choice and provision of one click access to a single playlist/station you will definitely enjoy.

I don’t think Apple Music or Amazon Music has anything similar to thumbprint radio.

 

[SurferMan]

Spotify Premium > All.... I've used them all and even with my Amazon Prime account I didn't like Amazon Music. Spotify Premium rocks, I have everything organized and even make custom playlist shared with friends that can add their own stuff. Hate Apple music as I always despised iTunes even when I had iphones.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Spotify Premium > All.... I've used them all and even with my Amazon Prime account I didn't like Amazon Music. Spotify Premium rocks, I have everything organized and even make custom playlist shared with friends that can add their own stuff. Hate Apple music as I always despised iTunes even when I had iphones.

iTunes works great on my high spec desktop PC, and of course on my MBP 2015.

But on my lower spec (but still more than decent) PC notebooks, iTunes is freaking terrible. You better have at least 6-8gb ram, and an i5 7th gen CPU for iTunes to run smoothly. And that's unacceptable.