Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
YouTube Music and YouTube recently lost access to a significant number of music artists due to a licensing dispute with SESAC, the performing rights organization that represents artists such as Adele and Kesha, among many others. It is hoped that a new agreement will be reached once the parties agree on new terms, but in the meantime, you may want to consider considering other options. This article introduces some of the best alternatives to YouTube and YouTube Music.
The best alternatives to YouTube and YouTube Music
There are many great music streaming services out there, but which one is best for you depends largely on how you use YouTube and YouTube Music. It also depends on whether you used YouTube and YouTube Music as a free or paid subscription. Again, there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution. Some alternatives offer on-demand streaming, while others function more like digital radio platforms. Looking for music videos? We have several options for that too.
spotify
Price: Free with paid tier
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Spotify is a great alternative if your main interest is listening to music based on your specific song or artist selection. Not only can you create your own customized playlists, but you can also easily listen to radio stations based on your favorite artists or specific songs. It includes a huge library of 100 million songs, 6 million podcasts, AI DJ, a la carte audiobooks, and more.
I’ve used several different streaming music services over the years, and this one remains my personal favorite. Please note that the free trial is quite limited. You can’t select a specific song and you’ll see ads. To get the most out of Spotify, you’ll need a paid tier. Unfortunately, Spotify isn’t cheap at $11.99 per month, or $19.99 for a family of up to six users. If you’re a student, there’s a cheaper $6.99 plan, and if you’re just a couple, you can consider the Duo plan for $16.99 per month.
You can sign up or download the mobile and desktop apps from the Spotify website, and there’s also a one-month free trial.
Apple Music
Price: Free with paid tier
Caitlin Cimino / Android Authority
Unlike some of the premium streaming music services on this list, Apple Music doesn’t have a free tier, but a one-month free trial is available. The service starts at $11 per month, but there are also student plans for $6 per month and family plans for $17 per month. That’s pretty much in line with Spotify’s pricing options, but what about its library? Apple Music has a similar library size to YouTube Music, but offers even higher quality audio options. The service is also available in 167 countries, while Spotify’s presence is smaller at 96 countries.
I personally prefer Spotify a bit more than Apple Music, but I found it very similar to my previous experience with YouTube Music. All your favorite major artists should be here, but as always, the library won’t exactly match what you’ll get from YouTube.
amazon music unlimited
Price: $9.99 per month (but a limited free version is also available)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Amazon Music for Prime is a free service that comes with Prime membership and gives you access to over 1 million songs. You can create playlists of artists and listen to radio stations, but you can’t select songs on demand like you can with paid subscriptions to Spotify or YouTube Music. The good news is that the Amazon Music Unlimited tier adds on-demand components and more, starting at $9.99 per month for Prime members and $10.99 for non-members. There’s also a four-month trial period now, giving you plenty of time to enjoy it without paying a cent while YouTube and SESAC work towards an agreement.
In my experience, Amazon Music Unlimited is a little less feature-rich than Apple Music or Spotify, but it’s a great alternative for Amazon fans, especially those who can save a little more with Prime membership discounts.
Jango is a free web radio service that lets you browse existing stations organized by music genre, era, or mood. Want a more customized experience? Jango doesn’t offer on-demand access to specific songs, but you can generate a custom station by entering the name of an artist or genre. The best part is that this service is completely free. You don’t even need to log in, but you should sign up for a free account to get the most out of the service.
There’s a lot to like about Jango, but be aware that there’s no option to skip songs or remove ads. If that bothers you, you may want to look elsewhere. For those interested, getting started is easy. Jango has an easy-to-use online website portal and you can download a mobile app from Google Play or the App Store.
SiriusXM
Pricing: $5+ per month
There’s no free Sirius XM tier, but the satellite-based music platform has one of the best radio streaming apps on the planet. Subscription also includes access from vehicles equipped with satellite radio. Not only do you have access to tons of great music stations, but there are also tons of podcasts, sports radio stations, and more. You can’t choose songs on demand, but it will suggest specific stations and songs based on your play history. Most of the time there are songs worth listening to, and many stations allow you to skip a song or two or rewind to the beginning.
SiriusXM’s biggest drawback is cost. Full-priced subscriptions sell for $22.05 per month, but there are often many promotions to avoid canceling when the price goes up. We also have a great introductory offer where you can lock in your monthly rate at $5 for the first 12 months of service.
Vimeo is clearly not a music streaming platform. This video streaming platform may not be officially dedicated to music, but if you’re looking for music videos or just want to listen to songs while reading the lyrics, you’ll find plenty of popular songs from great artists here. You can.
The downside here is that the video and audio quality varies from video to video and artist to artist. Some of these videos are just small sound clips, and it can be difficult to immediately tell what’s what. The good news is that with a little patience, you can find some music videos and videos with a scrolling list of the song’s audio and lyrics. Certainly not everything will be found. Randomly typing Kesha found some of her songs in full, but searching for Billy Joe mostly just brought up reaction videos.
Other options worth considering
The list above is a few options that we think are most likely to quench that itch, either permanently or until YouTube and YouTube Music resolve the current content-cutting issues, but they are not the only options. That’s not true. Below are some other possible alternatives you may want to consider.
Pandora: Pandora is a famous online radio platform that has both free and paid tiers. I’ve used Pandora a lot over the past years, but I feel like there are generally better options out there. Still, the free tier is at least worth considering for those who want online radio access. iHeart Radio: I used this a lot. This is a great free radio streaming station platform with additional features like playing songs on demand, but these features require a $9.99 monthly subscription. Tidal: Tidal is similar to YouTube Music in that it features on-demand access, podcasts, and an extensive library. You also get radio stations, music videos, and top quality music for $15/month. There’s also a 3-month free trial. Reddit: You might not think of Reddit when you think of music, but you’d be surprised how many great music videos you can find on the MusicVideos subreddit. Note that many of these use YouTube as a source, so you may experience content access issues. However, direct uploads and videos from other platforms can also be found here. Best of all, it’s completely free. comment
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