Which music streaming service has the best sound quality?
Several important factors come into play when deciding which streaming service to use. For most of us, it is a case of comfort. Frankly, if you started out using Spotify or Apple Music, steep price hikes, moral indiscretions, or major artist migrations will persuade most people to change streaming platforms. Infamously, Spotify is no stranger to these three factors but is still the reigning platform.
Spotify is currently the world’s most popular music streaming platform, with over 210million paid subscribers and 515million monthly active users worldwide. However, undercutting some of its closest competitors, Spotify generally pays its artists less per stream ($0.003-$0.005). Additionally, the platform offers a comparatively low maximum bit rate of just 320Kbps.
So, what keeps listeners loyal to the Swedish giant? Cost certainly isn’t the determining factor since Amazon Music is cheaper by one dollar or the equivalent in most countries. Apple Music and Tidal offer their services at a similar price, while Qobuz provides the highest sound quality of all major streamers for $13 in the US.
The main attraction to Spotify is the platform’s expansive library. It contains the highest number of artists, songs, audiobooks and podcasts, meaning listeners are seldom left wishing their favourite song would be added. While Joni Mitchell and Neil Young had their material temporarily removed from the platform, many fans switched to Apple Music as the next most populous library.
The switch is always a tough decision, given that people build a vast collection of playlists and an algorithmic footprint over time. Additionally, getting used to a new platform with a different layout and user experience can be a bit of a hassle. Some of those who made the leap, however, praise the enhanced sound quality on Apple Music. The highest bit rate on Apple Music at present is 1,152 Kbps.
If you were looking for the most morally virtuous streaming platform, you might consider Tidal. According to Viberate, the high-fidelity streaming service Tidal pays the highest royalties per stream ($0.0125 to $0.015). Artists will tend to earn $1,250 to $1,500 for every 100,000 streams on this platform. What’s more, Tidal offers one of the highest quality streams with a maximum of 1,411Kbps.
Audiophiles tend to look for a higher bitrate because, while it doesn’t directly equate to audio fidelity, it gives the audio information the best chance of clear playback. “Bitrate is going to determine audio fidelity,” producer and engineer Gus Berry once explained. “You could have the greatest-sounding recording of all time, but if you played it with a low bitrate, it would sound worse on the other end.”
Maximum bitrates for each major streaming platform:
- Qobuz – 6,971Kbps
- Amazon Music Unlimited – 3,730Kbps
- Tidal – 1,411Kbps
- Apple Music – 1,152 Kbps
- Spotify – 320Kbps
- YouTube Music – 256Kbps
