PAY TO PLAY OR PLAY FOR FREE?
Spotify is arguably the popular streaming service in
the world with millions of songs and a massive library of podcasts. It allows
its users to stream the songs for free but also offers a Premium version which
includes some additional features. With other streaming services upgrading
themselves, like Apple Music introducing its Spatial and lossless audio for
free in June, it has gained a competitive edge over Spotify Music. Although Spotify
HiFi is expected to soon launch. If you don’t have a Spotify Premium, you might
be wondering if it’s worth paying the premium fee or if you keep a free Spotify
account and spend your money towards a different streaming service.
We are going to breakdown and compare Spotify Free and
Spotify Premium so you can see what you can on both tiers.
Get the ultimate listening experience with Spotify Premium
There is a massive difference in functionality of Spotify Premium and Spotify Free
Even if the look of Spotify Free and Spotify Premium looks similar, there are far too many differences in their functionality specially with the Spotify mobile app.
PLAYBACK CONTROLS WITH SPOTIFY
One of the major drawbacks of the Free Spotify on
mobile app is the less control of your tunes. It allows you to select any album
or playlist and shuffle the songs in it but you cannot select a specific song
for playback. Instead, you have to rely on a random selection order. With the
premium version, you can listen to a song you like over and over again without
having to endure the pain of sitting through the entire album or playlist to
get to that song again.
Spotify curated playlists made specially for you
The mobile version of Free Spotify allows you to only skip 6 tracks per hour which is a real inconvenience. Premium users have the privilege to skip unlimited tracks. However, there are exceptions. Spotify allows unlimited song skips, even for Free Spotify, if you are listening from 15 Spotify-curated playlists like ‘Daily Mix’, ‘Release Radar’ and other playlists that are tailored according to your listening preferences.
Offline Listening with Spotify Premium
Spotify Premium allows you to download unlimited
number of songs for offline listening. This is a great feature for when you
don’t have Wi-Fi or a data connection. Sadly, the users who don’t pay to use
Spotify are not allowed to save songs to their devices which serves as a big disadvantage
to those who don’t want to run out their cellular data or find themselves with
no Wi-Fi.
Annoying Ads with Spotify Free
Ads are arguably the most annoying and worst thing
about the Free Spotify. That goes for both the visual ads you see when you are
scrolling through the app or the ads that play between the songs on Spotify
Free.
The ads in between songs are enough to test your patience and tolerance. Most of the ads have a loud, noisy background and an irritating overlaid voice advertising you to buy the Premium account and will make you think of getting it just for the sake of removing them. Whoever designed those ads should get a raise because they do drive many people to buy Premium.
Discovery Features
Playlists based on your taste updated every Monday
Music is made to be heard. Spotify is great at
promoting new music based on your personal taste. It uses an algorithm to
produce playlists that are designed according to the music style that align
with your listening history.
The ‘Discover Weekly’ and ‘Daily Mix’ playlists are
updated frequently with new suggestions. If there is a certain artist or song
you do not like, you can also block it from your profile. The
playlist ‘Release Radar’ shows you new releases from the artists you follow.
One of the best things about Spotify is this feature
is on both Free and Premium versions of Spotify. It also comes with a large
diversity of genres, moods and other various categories which are found in the
browse tab.
Browse playlist that fits your mood or discover new music
Collaborative Playlists
Collaborative Playlists are a great feature to enjoy
with your friends. Whether you are playing music for a party with friends,
planning a road trip or just want to enjoy music with your friends,
collaborative playlist got you covered in the music department.
Learn how to make
collaborative playlists.
High Sound Quality with Spotify
Premium
You might appreciate Spotify Premium for its higher
quality audio option if you are a true appreciator of music or you are using a
good pair of headphones. Premium allows you to stream music at 320 kpbs
bitrate. Comparatively, Free Spotify streams music at 160 kpbs on the mobile
app but that drops to 128 kbps on the Spotify’s desktop app.
How much does Spotify cost in
Pakistan?
Spotify offers 4 types of Premium Subscription and
some of them comes with great deals, although the deals are usually not applicable
if you already are subscribed to Spotify previously.
|
Individual |
Duo |
|
Rs.
299/month 1
account only ______________________ ü Ad-free music ü Offline playing ü On-demand playback |
Rs.
390/month 2
accounts ______________________ ü Ad-free music ü Offline playing ü On-demand playback ü Duo Mix – a playlist for
two consisting of music you both enjoy |
|
Family |
Student |
|
Rs. 390/month 6
accounts ______________________ ü Ad-free music ü Offline playing ü
On-demand playback ü
Family Mix – a playlist for your family consisting of music
you all enjoy |
Rs.
149/month 1
account only ______________________ ü Special discount for
university ü Ad-free music ü Offline playing ü
On-demand playback |
Social Features
Spotify encourages you to share music with your friends. Gone are the days of putting music on cassettes and DVDs and giving it to your friends to listen. Spotify lets you create links to share it with your friends on different social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. This feature is identical whether you are using the free or premium Spotify.
Spotify Wrapped
Credit:
Spotify
At the end of the year, Spotify unveils its ‘Spotify Wrapped’ feature whether you are a free user or a premium one. It is something that almost all users look forward to. Spotify Wrapped shows your statistics for the year on the app. The statistic is not only limited to just the songs but it also includes how many minutes you spent on listening to music over the year, the countries of all the artists you listened to, your most listened-to podcasts as well as your most favourite genre. In 2019, Spotify had a Spotify Wrapped for the whole decade.
Which one is better – Spotify Premium
or Spotify Free
Spotify Premium is a clear winner. It offers a lot
more than Spotify free that too for a cheap price, especially if you are a
student or if you buy the Duo or Family package but if you’re still reluctant
to buy, it offers month long trials of Premium.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I search songs using lyrics?
Yes. If you type the lyrics of the song on the search
bar, the song and the artist of the song will show up.
Can downloaded songs will still be
accessible for offline use after I stop my premium subscription?
No. This feature is only available for premium users
and only active premium users can access downloaded songs for offline
streaming.
Does Spotify Premium offer free
premium accounts for first time users?
Yes. Spotify offers 1-month free trial of their Duo, Family and
Student premium accounts while they give 3 months of free trial for the
individual account (This offer expires on 22nd June 2021).
The offers are only applicable for those who hasn’t tried premium yet
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