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Music has become an integral part of our daily lives. We need music to dance; we need music during work, we need music to mourn our latest heartbreak. Basically, we need music to do anything and everything. But do you know how you listen to music can greatly enhance or ruin your listening experience?
The music industry has diversified immensely today. We don’t need to download every single track before we can listen to it in peace thankfully to Music Streaming Platforms. They are convenient and have all the songs that we’d love to hear. There are plenty of music streaming platforms in India presently, and honestly, it is a bit hard to choose the perfect for yourself.
But don’t worry. We have tried and tested the most famous music streaming platforms and rated each one up based on their song pool, quality of music they provide, special features, and their premium versions for you so that you can select which one favors your taste and requirements.
Best Platforms to Stream Music in India
Spotify
This Sweden based music streaming app was launched in India in February 2019 and took the Industry by storm. With over 240 million-plus active users globally, you can find all types of tracks in this app ranging from indie, country music, musical theatre to EDM.
Though launched recently, their pool of Indian music is only bested by Youtube itself. The music quality it provides in the free version is very good. Plus, the interface of the app is minimal and easy to use. The only thing that is arguably bad here is that they will continuously try to sell you their premium version. Frequent ads between the songs are quite frustrating at times, but on the bright side, their premium version brings plenty of good features like unlimited skips, better song quality, and offline listening features.
Special Features – 4/5
Music Quality – 4.5/5
Song Pool – 4.5/5
Premium Version Recommendation – 5/5
Advertisements – 1.5/5
YouTube Music
When youtube saw other music streaming platforms grow in India, they decided to launch their own. Youtube Music is an almost perfect streaming option but with one big flaw. Its biggest strength, however, stays in its content pool and watch ability. You can literally listen to any track from old to new to podcasts because this app has the same content as of Youtube. You can even watch the videos while listening, which is a stand-alone feature and can’t be matched by other streaming platforms.
However, if you are someone who likes to listen without paying anything, then this app is not for you. Without the premium feature, you can’t listen to music with your phone’s screen turned off, which is a big let down. If you can spend INR 129 on this, then you don’t need to look anywhere else.
Special Features – 4.5/5
Music Quality – 4/5
Song Pool – 5/5
Premium Version Recommendation – 5/5
Advertisements -3/5
Gaana Music
Coming to the most famous music streaming platform in India. If you are someone that loves listening to local tracks, then gaana is the perfect choice for you as it boasts a huge library of local and regional songs ranging from Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and English. The overall UI of the app is light and easy to use. The recommendation it creates after reviewing your listening patterns is not great, though.
Most of the available features in Gaana+, which is the premium version of this, are not so special. Though its annual subscription is really cheap when compared to others.
Special Features – 3/5
Music Quality – 3.5/5
Song Pool – 4/5
Premium Version Recommendation – 2/5
Advertisements -4/5
Amazon Prime Music
Amazon prime offers a deep, extensive library of local and western music with brilliant sound quality. If you already use Amazon prime video as your preferred OTT platform, then you don’t need to buy Prime music’s subscription. In its premium version, this app gives you ad-free music listening experience and supports Amazon’s Echo smart speaker.
The downside of this app is that with its free version, you get very basic features, and the ad-interruption is also very high. Overall, if already you own a Prime membership, then this app is for you.
Special Features – 4/5
Music Quality – 4.5/5
Song Pool – 4.5/5
Premium Version Recommendation – 5/5
Advertisements – 2/5
Soundcloud
If you are a fan of listening to exclusive remixes and tracks from budding artists, then Soundcloud is for you. Some tracks you can find on this cannot be found anywhere, which is a big plus point. Other than that, the rest of the sound library is limited. The latest releases arrive a little late, and many times the sound quality is also questionable.
Special Features – 3/5
Music Quality – 3/5
Song Pool – 3.5/5
Premium Version Recommendation – 2/5
Advertisements – 5/5
Some Honourable Mentions
- Wynk Music
- Jio Saavn
- Hungama Music
Tips to increase your listening experience
Select a good pair earphones
To amplify your music listening experience, you need a pair of earphones or headphones. And with most of the smartphones ditching a headphone jack, your choice should be wireless, and for that, you can check out Best Bluetooth Earphones Under Rs.1500.
Make sure the music quality is top-notch.
You can listen to the best tracks in the world, but if their quality is not top-notch, you will not enjoy it at all.
Choose noise cancellation headphones for a better experience.
If you love working out in the gym and listening to music while working in noisy environments, then noise-canceling headphones or earphones should be your number one choice as they cancel out all the excessive noise coming from the outside lets you enjoy your music without any interruptions.
