Is YouTube Music Worth the Money? The Pros and Cons
It is hard to beat Spotify and Apple Music in the music streaming world. However, YouTube Music is an interesting alternative that provides a different experience compared to the two giants.
We’ll discuss the platform formerly known as Google Music, go through some of YouTube Music’s benefits and drawbacks, and figure out whether you should make the switch.
The Pros of Using YouTube Music
If you don’t knowwhat YouTube Music is, you are missing out. The platform has a fair share of tricks up its sleeve that makes it worth subscribing to. Here are some of the benefits you get when you subscribe to YouTube Music:
1. YouTube Music Features a Gigantic Music Library
The biggest advantage of using YouTube Music is its music library. You can easily find almost any song you can think of in the app. Apart from singles, albums, and playlists centered around the big names in the industry, you can also discover local artists and mixtapes along the way.
Similar to Spotify, YouTube Music has over 70 million tracks. However, you’ll find that the latter does a better job recommending personalized tracks, artists, and albums. This is because YouTube Music uses the same algorithm as YouTube, and you’re likely aware of how good that platform is at recommending videos.
2. YouTube Music Offers Skippable Ads in Its Free Version
Nothing kills the mood like an unskippable ad in between a song. Unfortunately, unskippable ads are common for the free version ofthe best music streaming services. Interestingly enough, while the free version of YouTube Music does have ads, they are skippable. This isn’t something you’ll see with any other platform.
On top of that, it’s possible to skip as many tracks as you want and scrub through songs. You can’t do these things in the free version of Spotify, so YouTube Music takes the win here. If you upgrade to premium, you’ll get access to offline listening, background play, andpicture-in-picture modefor videos.
3. You Get YouTube Music By Subscribing to YouTube Premium
YouTube offers many different subscription plans, but no one likes to pay extra for every service from a particular platform. Fortunately, you don’t have to pay for both services separately; you can just subscribe to YouTube Premium and get the best of both worlds.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, YouTube Premium is Google’s ad-free version of YouTube. If you pay for YouTube Music’s premium version separately, you will be charged $9.99/month. However, for $11.99/month, you’re able to get access to both YouTube Music and YouTube Premium.
If you thinkYouTube Premium is worth it, this is a pretty enticing value, especially if you are annoyed by YouTube ads.
4. You Can Watch Music Videos on YouTube Music
Another interesting exclusive feature is that you could listen to songs and watch music videos simultaneously. The platform natively supports video playback, which is a huge advantage if you prefer to watch music videos instead of listening to certain tracks on their own.
You can choose between two options; song and video mode. To use video mode, just search for the song you want to enjoy and tapvideo modeat the top of the screen. You will be set to listen, watch, and feel the music on all levels.
The Cons of Using YouTube Music
While YouTube Music has some surprising benefits over other streaming services, it also has its fair share of drawbacks. Some of these might be enough to push people away from the service entirely.
1. YouTube Music Offers Lower Quality Streaming
A couple of years ago, the average user might not have cared much about streaming quality. However, thanks to the rise of noise-canceling headphones and features such asSpatial AudioandLossless Playback, high-fidelity music is more accessible than ever.
Apple Music is the best in this regard, as it offers Lossless Audio. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like YouTube Music is working on adding this feature at the time of writing.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. Both Apple Music and Spotify provide a maximum bitrate of 320kbps for audio playback, whereas YouTube Music tops out at 256kbps. While that might not sound like a major difference to you, if you care about having the best listening experience, it’s something to note.
2. YouTube Music’s Free Version Lacks Background Playback
This is one of the most frustrating things about the free version of YouTube Music. While the free version of Spotify is also quite annoying, at least it features background playback. The fact that YouTube Music’s free version does not support it means your music will stop playing the moment you exit the app.
It is a baffling decision from Google and a major drawback for anyone who wants to test the free version. Of course, this is a deliberate action to force you to upgrade to premium. However, we feel this is something that will push people away rather than invite them to pay.
3. YouTube Music’s Interface Is Generic-Looking
Some of you might not care much about this, but YouTube Music does not have the most inviting user interface. In fact, it looks like a slightly modified version of the YouTube app. The color theme isn’t all that great, either. It prioritizes functionality over design, and that’s fine until you compare it to other services.
Both Spotify and Apple Music make better use of space with stunning header images, appealing covert art, and clever playlist descriptions. In comparison, YouTube Music just looks and feels uninspired. On top of that, while there’s a way toinstall YouTube Music on your PC, there’s no desktop version of the app.
An Interesting Alternative to the Streaming Giants
YouTube Music does have a few features that make the service an interesting alternative. However, the major con is that it can’t hold up in terms of streaming quality compared to Apple Music or Spotify. Still, some of the features it offers are valuable, and the fact that it’s included with YouTube Premium makes it worth checking out.
On the other hand, iPhone users are better off sticking with Apple Music. While Spotify is still the larger service, Apple has done a great job of offering some handy exclusive features. Spatial Audio, Automatic Downloads, and Curated Playlists are just a few of Apple Music’s top features.
Apple Music boasts a variety of cool features. Here are the best Apple Music features you really need to use on your iPhone.
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