Finally, music streaming service Spotify is jumping into the 21st century by adding video — but only on its mobile apps.
The streaming music service is set to begin integrating video clips into its Android app in the coming days and iOS not long after that.
Spotify users have awaited video since May 2015, when Spotify announced that it would be expanding beyond music and into the digital video space with a variety of partners including ESPN, Comedy Central, VICE News and many others.
The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed to Mashable by Spotify,
The videos will be short and contextual, with some partners making original content for Spotify. The launch is a turning point for a company that has at time struggled to turn a profit despite rising subscriber totals.
The U.S., U.K., Germany and Sweden will be the four launch markets for video, which will be accessible by both paid subscribers and unpaid members.
That means Spotify will be pushing out video to a big chunk of its 75 million active users, 20 million of whom pay for the service — but notably without ads, at least for now.
It may just be a matter of time. Paid subscribers generate the bulk of Spotify's revenue — 92% by one research firm's estimates. Spotify has long said its model relies on converting unpaid users to subscribers.
Video necessarily won't change Spotify's model, but it could ease the company's reliance on subscribers. Video is among the most lucrative online advertising formats, and one that Spotify has not yet tapped.
Apple music and Spotify are on the battle to win over users in music market these days. As users, of course, while enjoying the benefits of competition from two giant music supplier, we must stay clear-minded to distinguish which one is right for you. Here, we will make a detailed comparison about Apple music and Spotify including costs, music choice, audio quality, social integration and comparing each of their respective radio functions, in hope to be conductive when you're choosing from them.
Cost
Listening to music is an activity that will shrink your wallet, so cost is the most important thing when you're choosing. Apple Music is currently offering a three-month trial for those who want to test the service before purchasing. Following the trial months, it costs $9.99 per month, with no ads. Spotify has a free option along with ads. For the paid tier, Spotify offers a 30-day trial period, and then equally charges $9.99 per month. At this point, they are very much like.
For family sharing, Apple Music allows you to share music up to 6 users with $14.99 per month. While Spotify requires $5, £5, AU$6 per month per additional user. This depends on quantities of family members that you want to share.
Audio Quality
Apple music and Spotify use file compression to maximize bandwidth as the same as all digital media. In this case, you are able to stream or download music even when your network is not very good. However, The two services use different encoding formats and a different bit rate. Apple Music is streamed at 256Kbps in AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format, while Spotify offers the Ogg Vorbis format at 320Kbps. At this point, you may think Spotify is better because of the higher number, in reality, you can not judge which one is better simply depending on bit rate.
So, which one is better? That depends on your ears.
Radio
Apple Music Radio lets you listen to Beats 1—Apple’s first ever 24/7, worldwide radio station—as well as handcrafted, on-demand stations curated by a DJ or created by you. All on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. Music is hand-picked, much like traditional radio, and mixed with content such as artist interviews. Apple is also planning to incorporate celebrity shows, hosted by artists like Drake, Disclosure, St. Vincent, Josh Homme, Pharrell Williams, and Elton John. Spotify has theme-based playlists, as well as radio stations that are generated based on the music of a single artist. How those playlists are made, especially those generated through a request, are unknown. It seems Apple music is slightly better than Spotify on this matter.
Music Library
Apple Music stands tall on this issue thanks to the backing of the whole iTunes catalogue. Currently it's got the biggest library with an estimated 37 million songs in its store. It's also big enough to be able to chase up and offer exclusive albums, such as Dre's iconic hip-hop album, The Chronic, and Taylor Swift's 1989. Spotify is a little behind on that with 'only' 30 million songs in its library for its users to choose from.
Social Integration
Spotify does not only allow for their users to connect with the music that they provide, but also helps them connect with their friends. Spotify allows users to integrate their account with existing Facebook and Twitter accounts. There after they are able to access their friends’/followees’ favorite music and playlists. They also have a seldom used messaging function. Apple Music have planned an entirely new social platform called Connect which is for artists to share exclusive material such as photos, videos, and behind-the-scenes content, all of which fans can interact with by commenting, favouriting or sharing. Apple will be hoping that Connect is not a repeat of their failed music-based social network Ping.
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