For the previous few years, I’ve been fairly fortunately subscribed to YouTube Music through YouTube Premium. Not solely does it save me from advertisements on both platform, however Google has slowly turned YouTube Music into a reasonably first rate streaming service. There’s quite a bit to love about it.
Nonetheless, I have never used Spotify since we have been within the consider the Covid-19 pandemic, and even then, I wasn’t subscribed to it. So, I assumed it is likely to be good to revisit the app and really reap the benefits of Spotify Premium to see what I’ve been lacking out on.
Most of my family and friends use Spotify, and it appears way more omnipresent than the opposite music streaming apps in terms of third-party integration. It’s fairly exhausting to flee Spotify, and utilizing YouTube Music, I usually really feel a bit omitted when new options are launched or when anybody shares hyperlinks to songs that I can’t hearken to as a result of I’m not subscribed.
After utilizing Spotify solely for the previous month, listed below are the issues I like in regards to the app, the issues I nonetheless miss about YouTube Music, and whether or not or not I might see myself making the change everlasting.
The options that made me change
The choice to modify didn’t come to me in a single day. It’s one thing that I first thought-about doing throughout a New 12 months’s Eve journey in 2023 once I was in Hawaii with my buddies. Somebody is often enjoying music for us to take pleasure in whereas we’re enjoyable, enjoying video games, or driving from side to side. Everybody else had Spotify, which I didn’t usually take into consideration a lot previous to the journey, however there was one characteristic specifically that made me notice simply how a lot I used to be lacking out.
Spotify Jam is an extremely helpful characteristic that launched within the fall of 2023. It lets one individual arrange a “Jam,” which is actually a queue of tunes that they will invite others to hitch in on. Anybody within the Jam can add songs and handle the order of songs, making it a collaborative DJing effort.
I like this characteristic as a result of it lets everybody combine up the music queue and exhibit every others’ music preferences. I’ve a reasonably eclectic style in music, and whereas my buddies take pleasure in it once I DJ, I do know my tastes don’t all the time agree with everybody within the room, and there are particular genres or songs that I might not be too aware of that others could love.
Due to this, I made some extent to make the change to Spotify Premium forward of our 2024 New 12 months’s Eve journey in order that I might a Jam myself since I used to be the primary one DJing this time round with my new Sony ULT Subject 1. Spotify Jam additionally made it so I didn’t must arrange a playlist beforehand, which saved me a variety of time as we might simply create a queue in actual time. This characteristic alone made it price subscribing to Premium, and in the event you’re late to the social gathering and haven’t tried this characteristic out but, I like to recommend it the following time you and your mates get collectively.
One other characteristic I completely love is a bit much less flashy however nearly as essential to me. Spotify has a Good Shuffle characteristic that may insert songs it thinks you’ll like while you shuffle a playlist you’ve created.
I typically discover it tough to find new music, as I usually develop into snug with what I do know and like. I’ve a number of playlists that I cycle by way of relying on my temper, and so I’m very accustomed to nearly each tune. I’ll usually add a tune from time to time, however my playlists have a tendency to remain fairly stagnant. Because of this I just like the Good Shuffle characteristic a lot; it retains me in acquainted territory whereas giving me one thing new to hearken to that matches the opposite tunes in my playlist; that means, it doesn’t stick out a lot or destroy the vibe.
Spotify’s AI DJ was additionally a characteristic I used to be actually intrigued by, because it’s seemingly yet one more option to uncover tunes primarily based on the music you want. The AI-generated DJ interjects each few songs to arrange your listening expertise, altering the vibe from time to time with songs you’re accustomed to or could like. It’s a novel characteristic that I discover fairly music, because it nearly feels such as you’re listening to the radio, one thing I don’t do a lot of as of late.
That stated, the execution is much from excellent. The DJ will usually change to genres or artists that I’ve zero curiosity in, and I really feel like it would leap in to vary the vibe of the tunes slightly too usually. Typically, I simply wish to keep in the identical vibe or feeling for some time, and the DJ will change issues up at a whim, which feels fairly jarring at occasions.
Little doubt it’s a cool characteristic, one I feel Spotify ought to tweak a bit. Nonetheless, it does spotlight one in all my largest issues with switching to Spotify, one which makes me miss YouTube Music.
Issues I miss about YouTube Music
Probably the greatest issues about YouTube Music is that the app appeared to know me earlier than I even began utilizing it. After I first subscribed to YouTube Premium over the pandemic, I used to be shocked at how nicely the app was in a position to guess my tastes by recommending songs that I ended up loving. It’s because YouTube Music is tied to the primary YouTube app, and so my music searches all through the years would affect YouTube Music’s information of me.
That is one thing I’m battling in terms of Spotify. The app’s music suggestions simply really feel subpar in comparison with my expertise with YouTube Music, and I discover myself skipping songs as a rule. That’s to not say it’s all dangerous, and the songs that present up in Good Shuffle are sometimes nice. However whether or not it’s through a tune radio or the AI DJ, Spotify doesn’t appear to essentially get me.
In fact, I acknowledge that that is extra of a rising pains state of affairs and that the app should take a while to get used to my tastes. My earlier experiences with Spotify have been fairly restricted, so it doesn’t have a lot to go on, which is obvious at any time when I examine my Spotify Wrapped and YouTube Music Recap yearly. I am unable to be too exhausting on the app for not absolutely understanding my tastes, however I discover that that is one thing that usually makes me wish to return to YouTube Music.
One other factor that I discover missing on Spotify is the number of music, however not a lot in the best way you would possibly suppose. I’m an enormous fan of remixes and sometimes desire them over the unique combine. Spotify has an enormous number of music and remixes, however I’ve realized fairly rapidly that that is nonetheless fairly restricted in comparison with YouTube Music.
The factor about YouTube Music is that its connection to YouTube makes it a a lot stronger music streaming platform, for my part. I discover a number of the coolest remixes utterly out of the blue, and even when a selected tune or combine isn’t accessible as a music observe, I nonetheless have prompt entry to the tune through a YouTube video with out ever having to go away the app. And as a pleasant bonus, I can watch full music movies if I wish to, which turns out to be useful once I’m on the treadmill and want visible stimulation.
I’ve already develop into fairly upset at the truth that I can’t discover a lot of my favourite mixes on Spotify, however the lack of music movies proper now can be fairly disappointing. Spotify could also be a music streaming service with a deal with audio, however music movies are a reasonably basic a part of the music listening expertise.
Will I keep or will I am going?
After utilizing Spotify for a few months, it is clear to me why it is such a preferred platform. The app expertise feels way more mature, for lack of a greater phrase, and Spotify has quite a bit going for it regardless of the lengthy anticipate its long-awaited Hello-Fi tier.
In the meantime, Google is constantly tweaking the YouTube Music UI on what seems like a day by day foundation. It seems like Google is making an attempt to slowly flip YouTube Music right into a Spotify clone, which is not a nasty factor, but it surely speaks volumes to only how good of an app expertise it’s.
That stated, whereas Spotify is a favourite of ours right here at Android Central, with some genuinely enjoyable and helpful options, the largest factor retaining me from staying within the precise music expertise. Spotify simply does not know me in addition to YouTube Music, and I am unsure I wish to put in way more effort instructing Spotify to study my likes and dislikes. In any case, I am right here to hearken to music that I wish to hear, and proper now, YouTube Music is aware of precisely what that’s.
For now, I am going to proceed utilizing Spotify to see how issues enhance, however there is a good probability I am going to return to YouTube Music for my music wants.
