Music streaming has become an integral part of our recent lives, providing us with instant access to a vast library of music. Gone are those days when people rely on loading a memory card with their preferred songs or getting it transferred to their devices through Bluetooth, i remember downloading songs online, receiving via Bluetooth, USB, and memory card, as much as some still do these till date (maybe not through infrared any longer), the use of online streaming apps have largely taken over the scene.

With so many music streaming apps available in the market, choosing the right one can be a daunting task. In this article, we will compare the most popular music streaming apps and discuss the pros and cons of each, including YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Shazam, Deezer, Boomplay, Audiomack and Deezer.

YouTube Music
YouTube Music is a music streaming app that provides users with access to millions of songs and music videos. One of the benefits of using YouTube Music is that it offers a vast collection of music videos, live performances, and covers, i think this is a natural leverage youtube music has due to its integration with youtube itself, i find so much live and rare old Nigerian classics that has been uploaded as a still or low quality video years ago. The app also offers a personalized music experience, where it recommends music based on your listening history. However, one of the downsides of YouTube Music is that it's not available in all countries, and the ads can be quite intrusive, which can affect your listening experience.
Price: The Youtube Music Premium individual plan costs ₦900 ($2.45) monthly while the family plan for up to six users costs ₦1,400 ($3.80). The YouTube Premium individual plan costs ₦1,100 ($3) while the family plan costs ₦1,700 ($4.60).

Spotify
Spotify is another popular online music streaming app that offers a vast music library, personalized playlists, and a user-friendly interface. The app has a free version, but users can upgrade to a premium subscription that unlocks additional features such as ad-free streaming, offline listening, and the ability to skip tracks. Another major leverage of Spotify is its social sharing features, users can listen to songs in groups as well as share their playlists with friends and family on social media. One downside of Spotify is that the app's premium subscription can be quite expensive, and it may not be affordable for everyone.
Price: Spotify premium (individual plan) is available for 900NGN per month in Nigeria, and $9.99 per month for USA users

Apple Music
Apple Music is an online music streaming app that offers a vast music library, personalized playlists, and high-quality audio. The app is available for iOS and Android devices, and users can opt for a premium subscription that unlocks additional features such as ad-free streaming, offline listening, and the ability to skip tracks. One major downside of Apple Music is that the app is only available on Apple devices, and it may not be accessible to everyone.
Price: 1 month of Apple music costs 10.99$ per month with first month free.

Shazam
Shazam is an online music streaming app that allows users to identify songs that are playing around them. The app also offers a vast music library and personalized playlists. One major downside of Shazam is that the app does not offer offline listening, and users need to be connected to the internet to listen to music.
Price: Although Apple has now acquired Shazam and integrated the Apple music payment structure into it, Shazam Encore Plan was $2.99 per month.

Boomplay
Boomplay is an African music streaming app that offers a vast music library of African and international music. The app has a free version, but users can upgrade to a premium subscription that unlocks additional features such as ad-free streaming, offline listening, and the ability to skip tracks. Boomplay also has an extensive collaboration with several Nigerian providers to offer users several add ons mostly with regard to payment. With over 100M songs across different genres like Pop, Rock, Afrobeats, Afropop and Reggae, one major downside of Boomplay is that it does not offer much in terms of customization options such as customizing sound quality or setting up personalized recommendations based on user preferences.
Price: 899NGN per month for the premium plan.

Audiomack
Audiomack is an online music streaming app that offers a vast music library of African and international music. The app has a free version, but users can upgrade to a premium subscription that unlocks additional features such as ad-free streaming, offline listening, and the ability to skip tracks. Audiomack has been around since 2012 and boasts an expansive library with over 8 million tracks that can be streamed without interruption or ads. One major downside of Audiomack is that the app's premium subscription can be quite expensive, and it may not be affordable for everyone.
Price: $5.99 per month for the premium plan.

Deezer
Deezer is an online music streaming app that offers a vast music library, personalized playlists, and high-quality audio. The app has a free version, but users can upgrade to a premium subscription that unlocks additional features such as ad-free streaming, offline listening, and the ability to skip tracks. Deezer has 43 million songs available for streaming and is constantly updated with new songs.. One downside of Deezer is that the app's premium subscription can be quite expensive, and it may not be affordable for everyone.
Price: Deezer free is not available in Nigeria, deezer premium costs 4,600NGN per month or 10.99$/month + tax

A mutual feature of all these apps is the fact that you have to upgrade to a plan for more convenient and non-intrusive features, when it comes to paying for these subscriptions, many Nigerians have faced challenges as most of these apps do not accept Naira debit cards. However, with Cardify Africa's virtual dollar card, Nigerians can now pay for their monthly subscriptions in dollars hassle-free. The virtual dollar card allows Nigerians to make online payments in dollars and can be funded with both naira and stablecoins (Usdt, Busd etc). Users can also use a cardify africa basic dollar card to pay on udemy, google play, youtube, amazon, aliexpress, paypal, fiverr, namecheap, opera, aws, twitter amongst others.

It is important to note that most of these apps also have the local player feature, which means they can be used to play directly downloaded music on the phone as well. You can also download songs on these apps to listen to when offline, although, the download feature mostly comes with paid plans. In conclusion, each online music streaming app has its unique features and benefits. However, it ultimately comes down to personal preference and maybe flexibility, which bears the question, which online music streaming app is your personal favourite and why?


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Sportify

Used to be Deezer


Rn, it's Spotify.

Is this an advert or an expository essay?

Boom

FM Radio.... Especially cool FM.....







😤😤😤😤

I use Telegram for my music. Thank you

Audio mack because it's cheap!.

Boomplay. They have almost every song both new and old and it's convenient to use but their updated version is a bit stiff for now.

Spotify, because it's cheap, easy interface and my favourite part is playlist. Oh, I love Spotify playlist feature, different playlist from different people that resonate with your mood any time of the day. Podcast too, so many great podcast. I didn't try apple music so I can't really say if it's better or not, you're better off with Spotify if you're an android user though.

As e dey hot !

Spotify does it for me !!! They’ve got high-quality streaming and audio quality. Besides the music it offers, Spotify is a great place to listen to podcasts, a feature that isn’t as direct on other platforms and No other streaming service comes close to the plethora of playlists and new discoveries that can be found through Spotify.

Dbull on this one!



Omo na audio mack oooo
Na Im dey help my career

Spotify, like the fact that I can listen to music offline if I download my playlists, follow other people to access their playlists, the algorithm also recommends songs based on the type of music I listen to and if I listen to particular songs frequently it automatically creates a playlist for me.

Martartins:
Is this an advert or an expository essay?

It clearly says "sponsored".

YouTube music because it comes with ad-free YouTube, youtube video background play, good algorithm for music discovery based on your taste

Audiomack remains the best 😎😎😎😤😤

Boom play.... making da boom boom sound

Spotify

Wide collection of songs and podcasts

Great GUI

Gapless/fade out option

Equalizer

AI Auto generated playlists and playlist enhancement

I can save my playlist and listen to a wide range of complication by other users

Get direct access to songs from third party apps such as shazam, Google etc.

Spotify

I love Boomplayer but of recent too much advert has made me to stop using them.

So for now I prefer to use YouTube Audio

Like for Spotify and share for Audiomack

Apple Music. The radio tab is bae. I love the Local broadcaster & International broadcaster feature

YouTube Music

I don't know any, it's like I'm from a whole different planet..😂😂😂.. I need to step up my social media game because this thing of being antisocial is not on..🤣🤣🤣

Like for Apple Music share for Spotify

Nairaland

Dey play.. Deezer is N900.

1. SoundCloud: Love the facts it plays musics that has same patterns with what I searched for.

PC Radio: This bastard has channels dictated to almost all legendary musicians on earth. It's got channels for Olds songs as far back as 18th century. ( I'm hooked on Enya, Eminem and 2pac 24/7)...
(please don't download if you don't have ears for good musics, you won't find your Davido, wizkids, Burnaboy, portable and Co there)


Boom play na trash, hate when I searched for a song it keeps playing same music forever