Google Play Vs. Spotify

I've been an avid user of Google Play Music since it's launch here in the UK. I uploaded my 600+ album library from iTunes on day one, a simple yet time consuming task that I still remember well, then subscribing to its all access service when it followed in the autumn of 2013. I have been loyal ever since. Apart from the rare occasion where the song/artist/album I wanted to listen to was nowhere to be found on Google Play, I have had no reason to think about jumping ship on to another streaming service. But debates always arose. "Why don't you use Spotify?" I would argue my case for Google Play but the truth is...I didn't really know. I had nothing to compare it to (not since I last used Napster circa 2005). Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I had to know, am I missing out by subscribing to Spotify's lesser known rival? I have used Spotify Premium for the past 6 weeks and here is how it compares to Google Play Music...

Money On My Mind

Lets face it, If you are going to compare two similar subscription services, the most obvious place to start is pricing and value.

Google Play has two settings. The first is the free option. Pay nothing, ever, and upload your entire music library (up to 50,000 tracks) to the cloud and play them anywhere, on any device with one limitation, you can only have 10 registered devices at any given time. I say only, will the average person (or even family) need to have more than 10 devices? That's a tablet and a phone each for a family of 5! The second setting is designed to compete more directly with Spotify; a monthly fee of £9.99 (in the UK) gives you unlimited access to a vast library of music containing over 30 million songs with unlimited streaming. No ads. You can even download music for offline listening to save data, or entertain yourself when you have no connection.

On the flip side of the coin, Spotify has three different levels. Save your money and opt for a free account. This time round there is no option for uploading music. All you get for a free account is access to Spotify's music library limited to shuffling. If you want to cue music or play an album start to finish, you will have to pay £9.99 a month. Now we find ourselves on an equal playing field. The price is the same as Google Play Music All Access (...a terrible name isn't it!) and you get a service that is pretty much identical. No advertisements, unlimited streaming, shuffle or play in order, offline listening, and unlimited skips. You do get a few million more tracks on Spotify than Google Play will give you but chances are you will barely notice. And if you can't find the song you want on Google Play you always have the option to download the song from somewhere else and upload it to Google Play. If it isn't on Spotify, I'm looking at you Taylor Swift, you're pretty much screwed.

Winner - Spotify (by default. More songs for the same price equals better value...technically)

That's What Makes You Beautiful

Aesthetically, there is a huge difference between the two apps and websites. Side by side there is a stark contrast.

Google Play offers a simplified interface focusing more on visuals and album artwork. On its homepage you will be greeted by bright bold colours. The top half of the screen offering a sideways scrolling of suggested radio stations based on the day and time.

Below this is a 6 tile layout of recent activity. Making it easy to jump right back to what you were listening to. Unfortunately this doesn't always sync well with your activity on other devices which would be nice.

The third section as you scroll down will show big, beautiful cards for suggested listening including radio stations, playlists, artists and albums. Just like all Google apps it is simple and, in my opinion, beautiful.

The Ying to Google Plays bright and bold Yang, Spotify opts for a darker and more text based layout. The main browse view is flanked at the top with a similar sideways scrolling list of suggestions based on the time of the day. Smaller and less eye catching than Google Plays offering, these suggestions are playlists rather than radio stations and can be very hit and miss. On the up side there is less delving in to be done on each suggestion. One tap tales you straight to the playlist, the second tap starts the stream.

Below these small tiles lies three text based options; Charts, New releases, and Discover. Scroll down a little further to see Genres and Moods. a two wide grid of times showing activities and genres. Tapping on these presents you with tiles for popular playlists, artists, albums, etc.

Album artwork for the song or album that is currently playing is worlds apart on each app. Google Play selects part of the artwork and stretches it to almost full screen. Spotify shines through here with a very pleasing display. The original ratio is kept and the colours bleed out on to a blurred and darkened background. It's a simple yet stark difference that shows Spotify can do beauty too. Unfortunately, its not enough for me.

Winner - Google Play. The bright, welcoming display and colourful album at just feels more inviting and friendly to me.

Thinking Out Loud

A good streaming service has to be more than a large library of music. The problem with having access to a large library of music is knowing what to play. Therefore, suggestions have to be made and they have to be made well. A good streaming service needs to be intelligent. It needs to know what I want to listen to, what I might like, and what I don't like.

Both apps try to cater to your musical taste buds but Google Play jumps straight in from the start where Spotify likes to take time to get to know you.

When you first start Google Play Music, It will ask you to select which music genres you like. After you have done that you will then need to select which artists you like. Then you are ready to play. From day one Google's clever algorithms will use this data to provide intelligent suggestions for your listening pleasure right on the home screen.

Your first time using Spotify feels very generic. There is no screen to select artists or genres of interest and if you find your way to Discover, there is nothing to display. It is only after listening to a few different albums, playlists and radio stations (throwing in a few thumbs up and thumbs down) that suggestions will start to appear. And even then, it builds gradually. Too gradually for me.

Both offer the option to give a song a thumps up or thumbs down. helping the little monsters inside the app workout what you like and don't like. I find it strange though that this only appears when listening to radio stations on Spotify where Google Play shows it for every song without exception. Why would we not want the option to like or dislike a song on a playlist, Spotify?

Winner - Google Play. Google has the best machine learning around. So it only makes sense it would triumph here.

Applause

Music still has to be instantaneous. In the modern world we are almost always on the move. Going for a run, driving to work, walking to the shops, playing music whilst we cook. It is important to be able to quickly and easily navigate around the apps we use on a day to day basis. Our music player should be no exception.

For a good experience you will need to find your way around easily without instruction, add a song or album to a queue and reorder a playlist. When you search for an artist or album by name on Spotify, you get the correct result a damn sight faster than you do on Google Play. Surprising right? Especially considering Google's roots are in search. Sadly, this is let down by the awkward way of adding songs to a queue and not being able to change the play order in Spotify. At least, I haven't been able to find out how to do it. Which only highlights my point.

Google Is simplistic and this isn't a bad thing. You just know how to do what you want to do intuitively. And in case you don't? Google will show you how when you first use the app. There is no helping hand with Spotify.

Winner - Google Play. When I want to play music, I want to do just that. I don't want to have to dig around looking for something first.

Bring The Noise

Playing music on your phone is great. Something that was a tedious task only a decade ago and nothing but a dream a few years before that. Having it on your phone is one thing but what happens when we need to get social?

Connect headphones or a speaker, wireless or wired, and any music app on your phone will get a party started. But what's beyond that?

Spotify is available in a couple of places more such as Playstation and Virgin Media's Tivo box. Unfortunately these apps do not offer the same experience as tablet or smartphone app or even the website. Navigation can be a chore and as they don't talk well between each other, things start to fall apart even more. The experience gets worse when you try and stream to other devices from the app. Streaming Spotify from my iPhone to my Apple TV only got a few seconds of playback before automatically pausing. I don't know if this is a problem that affects everybody but it still takes away from the user experience. The Spotify app doesn't even offer streaming to Chromecast!

Load the Google Play Music app on to an iPad or iPhone and you can breathe a sigh of relief. Things begin to play along. Streaming can be done to either an Apple TV or Chromecast from here. It goes without saying that the Google Play Music app plays nice with Chromecast but it's unlikely we will ever get streaming comparability going from an Android device to an Apple TV in the near future.

Winner - Google Play. For me personally there was a lot more options for where and how I can pump up the jam.

Heavyweight Champion Of The World

Paying for two music subscriptions this similar would be a completely pointless waste of money. You are probably going to have to pick a side and stick with it. Ultimately, this will come down to personal preference but for me Google Play wins hand's down.

Both services offer free trials in one form or another so jump in. Give yourself whole heartedly to both of them and see which one you find yourself tapping on when you connect to a speaker or plug in your headphones.

During my trail of Spotify, I had to fight the urge not to launch Google Play Music. As I finish typing the final lines on this post I am streaming Arctic Monkeys through my Chromecaset, I have just cancelled my Spotify Premium account and it feels great. I can't hide the grin on my face.

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Until next time…

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