Sweet, sweet music to my ears.
This is the GGG – Canelo, Xbox – PS4, and classic cereal before milk or milk before cereal debate.
Over this past week I have seen multiple advertisements from Spotify offering an amazing college student deal: 99 cents for three months and this offer includes Hulu and Showtime. After the three months it is just $4.99 a month. How can you go wrong?
After seeing the ad all over Snapchat and Instagram I decided to pull the trigger. Over the summer I stayed at Cape Cod with family in an Airbnb where the host had Hulu and it included a movie I’ve been wanting to watch but did not have time. So I signed up for this student bundle last night, September 20, and watched that flick.
Over the next three months I will be using my current student subscription to Apple Music and my new student bundle subscription to Spotify to compare the two music streaming services.
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To begin, Spotify did an amazing job pushing this advertisement to my Instagram and Snapchat feeds. It could be that because I already have Apple Music, I dismiss the ads when I do see them or maybe, I am less of a target for Apple because I already have their service. Regardless, Spotify got me right where it hurts, my wallet!
No, they did not place this ad on the blog. It is a screenshot of Spotify’s offer. Spotify is not just appealing to music lovers, but to those binge watchers who can’t get their fix from Netflix or want to try something new. When you think about it, Netflix subscriptions start at $7.99 and you get no music. For college students, I already feel that Spotify is hitting everyone’s sweet spot with a mix of specially crafted music selections and offering two video content services with the music.
If you are not a college student, you get these services at a starting price of .99 cents for the first two months and then $12.99 per month thereafter. Netflix has a Premium Plan of $13.99 that only includes more HD options and the availability to watch on four devices at the same time.
Apple got me a while a while ago. The only reason I purchased an Apple Music subscription is because I already had the free version of Spotify, but always downloaded my music from iTunes. iTunes is where Apple floods the page with Apple Music advertisements. I believe it was very effective because while you’re looking for that one song to buy or just to see what new music is out, Apple is screaming in your face:
“STOP PAYING $8 FOR ONE ALBUM AND PAY NOTHING FOR 3 MONTHS AND THEN $4.99 AFTER OR CANCEL IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT!”
The familiarity of Apple and exclusiveness of not offering a free version intrigued me.
At the time Apple offered students the first three months free and because I was tired of hearing ads and not having enough data to stream music, I signed up and gave it a try.
I remember having the power of unlimited music and it was like the best Christmas morning ever! Where you get all the toys, video games, clothes and presents you’ve ever wanted and you and your friends don’t even know where to start. That is how I felt when I signed up for Apple music. Yes, Apple Music made me feel like a child again.
After the first three months… who am I kidding? I knew I was going to keep my Apple Music subscription the day I signed up and had the power of unlimited music.
I am currently jamming to tunes on Spotify but will be bouncing back and forth.
– UPDATE October 13, 2018 –
It has been a couple of weeks not with Spotify and Apple music.
I have found myself leaning towards Spotify’s music algorithm and what songs they decided to promote and push to their New Music playlist.
Some of the negatives I have found are that when I get to my car and the bluetooth kicks in and stars playing songs, it starts playing songs on Apple Music. Probably because it is the native music app on my phone.
I have found that Siri does not like listening to commands when I want music played through Spotify.
A minor detail I have also noticed is that album cover arts do not show up on the car screen all the time when I have Spotify playing music, but when I have Apple Music playing the tunes, the cover art shows up no problem.
It definitely is Apple not giving Spotify any breaks with its software and would definitely prefer its users listen to music through their app.
It has been making me consider just using Apple Music to make my life simpler.
BUT! Then I remember that Spotify has allowed me to use Hulu and Showtime included in the student bundle which I am happy about. I have already gone through one season of a show on Showtime and am watching two new shows on Hulu and have seen a movie also.
Spotify is making it super hard to keep my life simple by providing all these services.
Apple just has to choose better music for me and better playlists. I feel as if Spotify has an unlimited amount of playlists that will fit any mood I will ever have.
I will continue my music research and update the blog.
Check back occasionally to see updates on the comparison!
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