Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Thanos has his gemstones, and I have my music subscription services. I’ve subscribed to practically all the major streaming services. Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal — they all have their own unique strengths and quirks. Of course, I’ve tried to rationalize the cost by saying that I’m keeping my options open and that different services are good for different use cases, and even moods. Spotify Jam comes in clutch when I’m throwing a party. Other days, I want Apple Music’s clean interface and easy AirPlay capabilities. Some days I’m chasing the top-tier high-fidelity streaming and catalog on Tidal. You’ve gotta have options, yeah?
No other service’s radio stations fill that dialed-in radio DJ-shaped hole in my heart.
But when I’m not in the mood to overthink and just want solid 80s hair metal jams to roll on their own, I end up back on YouTube Music. Not because of the app design, collaborative features, or even for the massive content library. It’s the radio. No other service’s radio stations fill that dialed-in radio DJ-shaped hole in my heart the way that YouTube Music does.
What's your preferred music streaming service? 14 votes Spotify 21 % Apple Music 21 % Tidal 14 % YouTube Music 43 % Qobuzz 0 % I like my physical media 0 %
The funny thing is, I wasn’t intentionally looking to make a move to YouTube Music. The service comes as a free add-on perk with my YouTube Premium subscription and I barely, if ever, used it. However, a while back, while streaming a live concert on YouTube, the autoplay queue filled up with a consistent stream of top-tier, relevant live videos and renditions of some of my favorite, and soon-to-be-favorite tracks.
The music selection felt handpicked, though obviously it wasn’t. YouTube knows my tastes in media better than most, and it was quietly DJing in the background, helping me discover deep cuts, B-sides, and mixing it up with all the usual favorites. On a lark, I popped open YouTube Music and kicked off a radio stream based on a single song. Little did I know that I was in for a full day of music listening.
Predictable is fine, unpredictable is exciting
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Look, Spotify’s radios are fine if you’re in the mood to stay within a familiar loop. They are particularly good if you want to stick to the chart toppers. Spotify’s algorithms are famous for playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar, but everyone will agree that the deeper you go into the radio function, the more you observe that it is recycling the same few artists and tracks.
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