YouTube Music Premium VS Spotify Premium VS Apple Music: Which Should S’poreans Choose For Their Music Subscription Needs?

YouTube Music premium is the latest music subscription service to enter the Singaporean market. Similar to other music subscription services, they offer a 2-tiered subscription service, one free and one paid, with different features and offerings.

But, how does it compare to existing paid music subscription platforms like Spotify Premium and Apple Music? And, which should you choose for yourself?

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As you can see, price-wise, each music subscription service is quite similar across the board. However, there are certain features that differentiate each service from one another.  Let’s do a deep dive into each of these music subscription services.

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#1 YouTube Music Premium

YouTube Music Premium is a great choice for those who enjoy other material from their favourite artistes such as live performances, remixes, covers, music videos and even user-uploaded content. If you enjoy video content as much as your music, this subscription service is worth looking at.

YouTube Music Premium has an in-app feature for you to toggle between songs and video content. Paying for this subscription service means that you can enjoy ad-free YouTube content on your mobile while toggling between videos and music seamlessly, versus having to go through ads to access your music and videos on the free version. You can also turn on a smart download feature to enable auto-downloads overnight for offline listening the next day.

The best part about YouTube Music Premium is that there is no cap to the amount of music and video data you can download. YouTube Music Premium is compatible on both mobile (iOS and Android), and web (desktop).

#2 Spotify Premium

Like the other music subscription services, Spotify Premium offers ad-free music while allowing you to skip songs. A plus point about using Spotify Premium is that it runs on a dedicated app, so you can use it on any device that you want, including tablets, computers and mobile phones provided that it meets system requirements.

Additionally, Spotify invests heavily in user-generated content and podcasts for its users to enjoy. This content cannot be found on other platforms, so you are guaranteed to have access to exclusive material. Spotify is also known for its algorithms that recommends daily, weekly or thematic playlists based on your listening habits and the region you’re from. It’s a suitable app for you if you prefer access to content that is more localised and curated.

Spotify also features a social element in its app which is great if you are constantly sharing your music with your friends. You can see what your friends are listening to and share songs on your Instagram stories.

The cons to using Spotify Premium is its offline download limit. Compared to Apple Music and YouTube Music premium, offline downloads on Spotify Premium are limited to 10,000 songs per device at up to 5 devices. That means you’re able to download only up to 50,000 songs over 5 devices. On the other hand, YouTube Music Premium has unlimited downloads provided that you have sufficient storage, and Apple Music at 100,000 songs.

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#3 Apple Music

Apple Music works best if you are plugged into the Apple ecosystem and its suite of devices. The advantage to using Apple products with Apple Music would be their seamless functionality. For example, Apple Music is compatible with Siri and connects with iTunes for desktop use. This means that you can stream your existing music libraries and use your Apple products as per normal when you sign up for Apple Music.

Apple Music is compatible with Sonos smart speakers. You can also stream radio stations live through the app–– a feature that both YouTube Music Premium and Spotify Premium do not have.

The downside would be the fact that you may have a compromised experience if you use non-Apple products with the service. The voice assistant function on Android is not compatible, and you won’t be able to stream music through Apple Music without the iTunes app. If your music library is based on cloud or a local disk space remote from the iTunes app, you’ll have to manually bring in your playlists and music into iTunes which may be cumbersome for some.

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