UK Edition
Much has been made about how Apple Music is poised to revolutionise the streaming industry, particularly when it comes to Spotify - the Swedish service with more than 75 million users worldwide. But which is better, and worth paying for?
How old is it?
Spotify: 2008
Apple Music: 2014, relaunched 2015
Spotify was launched in October 2008 in Stockholm, before rolling out in the UK the following year. It took until 2011 to reach the US. Apple Music, meanwhile, began life as Beats Music in January 2014 under the watchful eye of talented music mogul Trent Reznor. Four months later Apple acquired Beats Music and the headphones arm of Beats Electronics in the company's largest ever acquisition, costing some $3 billion (£1.8bn). The service was relaunched as Apple Music during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in early June, and will be available to download fromJune 30. Eddy Cue has confirmed that Beats Music will migrate to Apple Music.
How many users does it have?
Spotify: 75 million +
Apple Music: TBC
Shortly after Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine showcased Apple Music for the first time, Spotify released its updated active user figures, totalling more than 75 million accounts in 58 countries across the world. Of these, over 20 million are paid subscribers.
As of March 2014, Beats Music had just 111,000 subscribers, according to aleaked report. It's unknown just how many iOS 8.4-compatible iPhones, iPads and iPod touches are current used across the world, and whether Apple will release figures of how many users have opted into paying for subscriptions once the free trial is over. But when you tot up the Mac and PC users - and later Apple TV and Android owners too - Apple Music has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of users.
How many tracks does it have?
Spotify: 30 million+
Apple Music: 30 million+
The two services have roughly the same number of tracks; some 30 million at their disposal.
Apple Music users can listen to their own personal iTunes library through the app as well as the Apple Music streaming library. Spotify allows you to listen to non-Spotify music too, but adding local files has to be done through a desktop Mac or PC. For example, you can't listen to your iTunes library through Spotify itself.
How much does it cost?
Spotify: £9.99 per month for Premium subscription
Apple Music: £9.99 per month
Both services operate on a two-tier system: very limited functionality for free, or full use for a monthly fee.
To entice people into trying it out, Apple is offering a three-month free trial, after which they will be charged £9.99 a month. Alternatively, you can sign up to a Family membership for £14.99 a month for up to six people.
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You can view and follow artists under the Connect tab and listen to the Beats 1 radio station when using Apple Music for free, but that's it. With a subscription you can skip through other radio stations, save content to your library for offline listening and take advantage of expert music recommendations.
When using Spotify for free, you can only shuffle through playlists and albums, and can't actually select the song you'd like to hear. Spotify seems to hope this will infuriate you into paying £9.99 a month to become a Premium member, so you can skip through songs, listen offline and play any track in high-quality audio free from adverts. Spotify also offers a 50 per cent off student discount, meaning they can upgrade to Premium for £4.99 per month. The platform's Family option links up to five separate Premium accounts for the monthly discounted subscription of 50 per cent.
Who has what?
Spotify: Podcasts, TV programme clips
Apple Music: Taylor Swift, music videos
Last month Spotify announced its intention to move away from just music and into video content in an effort to be "more personal and more usable". Spotify now offers video clips, news bulletins, podcasts and more personalised playlists.
But Apple has a real selling point now that it's persuaded Taylor Swift to sign up to the platform after she famously withdrew her body of work from Spotify last November. Swift's profile on the platform sports a picture which reads: '@taylorswift12 we were both young when we first saw you, but now there's more than 40 million of us who want you to stay, stay, stay'.
Apple Music also has access to the singer's previous four albums. Singer Pharrell is planning on debuting his new single Freedom exclusively on Apple Music during its first day, and AC/DC has also announced it is putting its records on both Spotify and Apple Music.
Apple has a long tradition of cajoling previously-reluctant artists into joining iTunes, and Apple Music is likely to no exception. Even The Beatles eventually agreed to distribute their work through iTunes, and it's likely Apple is working hard to negotiate terms to bring the band to the new service - the fact that they are not on Spotify is, I'm sure, purely coincidental.
What platforms does it work on?
Spotify: Multiple
Apple Music: iOS, OS X, PC
Spotify can be downloaded for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone. It also works over Linus, Bozee, MeeGo, PC, OS X, Openpandora, Roku, S60, Samsung Smart TV, Sonos, HEOS by Denon, PlayStation 4 and 3, Squeezebox, Telia Digital-tv, TiVo, WD TV and webOS.
Apple Music will be issued through an iOS 8.4 update for compatible iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, along with Macs and Pcs. Apple TV and Android users will be able to access the service in the autumn. Apple Music will also be available on Sonos before the end of the year.
What's the sound quality like?
Spotify: Up to 320kbps Ogg
Apple Music: 256kbps AAC
Spotify's audio quality comes in three tiers; Normal at 96kpbs, High at 160kbps and Extreme at 320kpbs, the latter two of which are only available for Premium subscribers. Apple Music's quality is standardised at 256kbps.
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So which should I pay for?
Given how established Spotify has become in the past few years, it will take a lot for hardcore fans to try out Apple Music, especially given that year's worth of playlists cannot be transferred. If you're unbothered about radio also, it's unlikely that Apple Music's free trial will sway you to use the service as your primary means of streaming, and if you enjoy being able to see what your friends are listening to via Facebook that's another feature lacking. Spotify also has more extensive charts, drawn from what its users are streaming worldwide.
Apple Music will appeal to those curious to try out the human-curated playlists, Zane Lowe fans mourning his departure from Radio 1 and people looking for an alternative to the existing streaming services. There's no escaping the fact Apple Music is much more aesthetically-pleasing than Spotify, but this is a question of making using the platform a more pleasant experience rather than a functionality or usability issue. It will be interesting to see how Apple Music's takeup progresses, and whether it can make a dent in Spotify's empire. I've paid for Spotify for years, and will be using the two services side-by-side to draw a definitive decision soon.