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Spotify | Deezer | Rdio: The Mobile Music Streaming Service Showdown

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2014 is the year of music streaming for us Filipinos, as with the phenomenal growth of smartphones came services to fix our music craving along. I remember the day when we all have to bring several cassette tapes or CDs along with our trusty Walkman or Discman to listen to songs while traveling or commuting. Now, we carry thousands of songs –  and millions more available in the cloud –  right at the palm of our hand.

With a variety of apps we can use to stream music, what should you pick? Well, let’s check the three major music streaming apps available in the Philippines –  Spotify, Deezer, and Rdio – and see their best features for you to meet your music match.

SPOTIFY

Launched April 8th in the Philippines with the help of Globe Telecom and Coca-Cola, Spotify is the first major music streaming app that got mainstream acceptance due to its unique discovery proposition, and a music delivery system that was never before experienced. Its themed playlists feature enabled listeners to discover music in a unique way that you can simply listen to the right music at the right time, moment or place, with just one tap.

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Spotify has over 20 million songs in its locker; most major streaming apps have that number of songs anyway, but what sets Spotify apart from the competition is its rich playlist collection. Know your friend’s musical taste, a stranger’s take on beach party music, or Spotify staff’s version of a solitary road trip playlist. Anyone can make their own playlist, collaborate with others to make one, and even share it to 40 million users. You can also see what people nearby are listening to so you can judge their tastes in music without them knowing.

DEEZER

Created August 2007 by Daniel Marhely, Deezer is a popular streaming app for more than 7 million users around the world, and was launched in the country January 28th last year. Users globally are enjoying over 30,000 radio channels and over 30 million songs available on demand.

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Since Spotify is the first music streaming service I used, I had a hard time adjusting to Deezer. It’s not Deezer’s fault, though, but as I get the hang of using the app, I felt at home.

There are some features in Deezer I would like to highlight. First is SmartCache. You can adjust how big or small Deezer would eat from your device memory – from 30MB to 8.8GB; very useful for devices with low free storage space. Another unique thing about Deezer is how it organizes its library by adding a region filter, so if you like Cantonese pop music or Thai rock music, you can access them in a snap. Lastly, you can see the queue while listening to a radio channel (this feature is only available while listening to playlists on other apps) so you know when to hit skip.

RDIO

Available for Philippine users May 20th, Rdio is a subscription-only service that provides personalized music streaming to listeners with over 25 million songs in its stable. Its user interface and song collation has been lauded by users that make this app thrive. Although it requires a subscription, they give first-time users a 14-day trial on mobile, and up to 6 months on desktop for them to test the service.

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After testing this service, I was amazed at its radio service, on how you can customize each station on how “mainstream” would you like the queue to be. The app is also excellent at grouping artists on specific genres so you could explore more about African pop or shoegazing, for example. That’s Rdio’s major attraction.

If you have decided on what music streaming app to invest in, here’s a quick chart on what they can do free or with a fee.

What you can do free:


Spotify Deezer
Signup required Yes Yes
Streaming Playlists (shuffle on mobile; select tracks on tablet and PC);Radio Flow playlist only (staff recommended); Radio
Streaming quality ~160kbps ~120kbps
Advertisements Yes Yes
Skips/hr Up to 6 Up to 6

What you can do with a fee:


Spotify Premium Deezer Premium+ Rdio (Rdio Unlimited) 
Price PHP129/month PHP250/month; PHP3,000/year PHP99/month
Current offers Free premium for Globe GoSURF 299 and above; PHP299/month for Globe subscribers with 1GB allotment Free Premium+ for Smart LTE Plan 1175 and above None
Mobile availability Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone (via client), Windows Mobile 6.0, Symbian (S60) Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone
Offline mode Yes, user-enabled Yes, automatic Yes, user-enabled
Streaming quality ~320kbps ~320kbps ~320kbps
Advertisements No No No
Skips/hr Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Free trial 48 hours, after trying free service for some time 15 days, first-time use 14 days, first-time use

We’re not gauging what’s the best music streaming service as each of them have their own strengths. It’s a matter of what strength is more important to you. Spotify is good at providing tracks according to your mood. Deezer is good at localized content. Rdio is good at adapting to your willingness to explore music. Hope you find your match. If not, there are other apps available as well – 8tracks, SPINNR, Grooveshark…heck, even Internet radio apps can get you your music fix.

The post Spotify | Deezer | Rdio: The Mobile Music Streaming Service Showdown appeared first on ALTMNL.


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