Tidal vs Spotify vs Pandora vs Songza: Which Music Streaming Service Is Best For You?
Despite being under the umbrella of music streaming, Tidal, Spotify, Pandora and Songza are all very different in what they bring to the table.
With the announcement this week of the new artist-supported service Tidal, the music streaming competition continues to grow stronger. As many forms of entertainment turn to the Internet, services like Tidal, Spotify, Pandora and Songza are competing for music lovers' hearts.
Here, Enstars will break down which music streaming service is best for you.
Taylor Swift & Her Label Are Not On Board With Spotify
Spotify
When most people think of music streaming, they think of Spotify. With over 25 million songs in its ever-expanding library, if you are looking for any particular song, chances are high that Spotify's got it. The service has relative high sound quality and allows the user to create their own playlists for free. Spotify is ad-supported for the free version but paying $9.99 per month eliminates all commercials.
One slight drawback of Spotify is that many artists have pulled out of streaming their songs with the service. Taylor Swift and many more artists do not have contracts with Spotify due to disputes over artist compensation.
Pandora
Pandora is another music streaming site that has been very popular over the years. This site is geared more towards people who are looking to hear new music similar to artists they enjoy. Users are able to customize their own specific artists or genre and Pandora creates a playlist within that genre. One thing that limits Pandora comparatively is that it has a much smaller library compared to other services, with about 1 million songs.
Like Spotify, Pandora also features ads occasionally. However, users can subscribe to Pandora for $4.99 per month and get guaranteed ad-free listening experiences. Music lovers looking to expand their horizons should definitely pick Pandora as their streaming service of choice.
Songza
Songza is the perfect music streaming service for those who just want a general feeling as they go about their day. The service acts as a music curator, allowing the user to input what they are doing (taking a walk, cleaning, relaxing) and Songza creates a specialized playlist to help fit the mood. The service has about 20 million songs available in its library.
And much like Spotify and Pandora, Songza does have ads in between songs occasionally for the free version. Those who do not want ads can pay $3.99 per month through the service Club Songza. Songza does not allow users to download or stream offline.
Tidal
The new kid on the block, Tidal is best for music lovers who really want to support the artists they listen to. The service describes itself as "high fidelity music streaming," with a higher quality of streaming compared to other services. There appears to be greater artist interaction as well, with special playlists from artists like Beyoncé and Coldplay.
One thing that may set Tidal back, however, is the pricing. It costs $9.99 per month just to use the service (with Tidal Premium), and this only provides standard sound quality. The "high fidelity" sound quality subscription comes to $19.99 per month. For some users this is simply too much to pay per month, while others believe that it is worth the price.
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While there is some overlap between many of these services, finding exactly what you want can be tricky.
Those who know what they want and do not wish to pay a steep price can go for Spotify. Music fans who want to explore other music similar to what they already like should use Pandora. Those who just want a particular feeling to set the mood can't go wrong with Songza. And those who truly want to support their favorite artists fully should check out Tidal.
