Streaming has become the new poster child for the music industry. Not only the service makes it easier for users to discover and access unlimited music on their smartphone, but it also allows publishers to earn money. I don’t have the stats but I can bet that music piracy has decreased since the music streaming services became a mass-market thing. After all, who wouldn’t want to have access to a catalog of millions of songs at their fingertips? Since the music streaming market is still growing, there are a number of music streaming services on the market right now. So, if you are confused as to which service you should give your money to, here are the 10 best iPhone music streaming apps that you should check out to make your decision.
1. Apple Music
Apple Music, as we all know, is not a new player in the iPhone music streaming apps paraphernalia. In fact, Apple bundles this particular app with all its new iPhones and iPads. It’s one of the best-designed music streaming apps on the platform. The app’s UI is very reminiscent of Apple’s design language with white and grey accents, which makes you feel like you are using a well-designed and premium app.
Download Apple Music (Free trial, $9.99/month)
Spotify is known to be one of the best music streaming apps in the game and rightfully so. The service has over 120 million paying subscribers, and it has around 50 million tracks. Spotify is truly the place to be if you are looking for international tracks. One of the main advantages of using Spotify is that it offers a free tier with which you can listen to its huge catalog without having to pay for it. It is, however, worth pointing out that the free account only lets you listen to songs in shuffle mode.
3. YouTube Music
YouTube Music, much like the other apps in the list, is a full-fledged streaming app that lets you stream music from your favorite artists. It includes everything ranging from music radio to official music videos. You can either use its ad-supported version for free or shell out $11.99 YouTube Music Premium, which includes background listening, offline downloads, and more. One of the best things about YouTube Music is its recommendations. To me, it’s the only service which has as good a recommendation engine as Spotify. Plus you get all the video content that is not possible on other streaming apps. The service recently introduced the song lyrics feature which was probably the only thing that was missing. You should try it out.
TIDAL is also one of the popular names in the music streaming space as it boasts over 60 million lossless-quality tracks. Besides music, you can also find new and popular music video content including exclusive in-depth interviews covering stars like Jay-Z. It’s, however, worth pointing out that the curated content on TIDAL is heavily focused on hip-hop, R&B and more.
Download TIDAL (Free trial, $9.99/month)
If you are looking to discover some new and independent artists to listen to, then Soundcloud is the way to go. Soundcloud is essentially a community of musicians, bands and podcasters that are looking to reach out to their fans across the globe. It’s also very popular among musicians who are looking to get their songs out without going through the hassle of signing a contract.
7. Pandora
Pandora is also a popular music streaming app that lets you stream songs for free. It uses a radio-style approach as it creates a station of music that you like. If, for instance, you like listening to Ed Sheeran, then Pandora will curate a station with songs from the same artist or other similar music. You can choose to add more artists or songs to your station or simply rate the music by giving thumbs up or down to each song and let Pandora do its job. The service has an extensive database, so it’s a great tool for discovering new music.
Much like every other music streaming app in this list, Deezer is also a truly capable app with a massive library of tracks. But Deezer also has a neat feature called “Flow” which leans about your favorite types of music and curates a mix just for you. In our usage, the Flow feature worked pretty well and it suggested some really good tracks to us. Deezer also has a premium subscription option which gives unlimited access to all songs, offline playback, and more for just $10. If you are looking to stream music in the highest quality, then you can also choose splurge $20 for a HiFi subscription that uses high-definition FLAC codecs.
If you are someone who loves the traditional radio experience, then you’ll have a great time using iHeartRadio. The app primarily brings you live streams of all radio stations in one place. In addition to radio, you can also listen to other things like news, podcasts, and more.
Download iHeartRadio (Free, starts at $4.99./month)
If getting a one-stop platform for music, sports, news, podcasts and AM/FM radio is what on the top of your mind, “TuneIn Radio” would be worth checking out. The app claims to have the world’s largest collection of on-demand and original audio. So, it doesn’t matter what sort of programs you like to catch up with, the massive catalog can cater to your taste. Another notable feature is the personalization that ensures you can customize the app to access desired music, radio programs, sports, and podcasts with ease.
Bonus: Gaana Music
While Gaana Music may not make a match with global titans like Spotify and Apple Music, it can be a fairly good pick for the folks who enjoy listening to Bollywood and Indian regional songs. Featuring a library of over 30 million songs, it has got a decent library that can cater to a wide variety of tastes. Moreover, the app also updates its catalog regularly to include the latest offerings, so you will always have something new to stream.
