There’s little more enjoyable in life than kicking back and listening to some good tunes. That’s easier to do today than it has ever been in the past. There are plenty of free music apps out there that allows the modern-day listener to enjoy a wide variety of genres and tunes.
If you’re looking to switch up your listening habits and embrace something new, you might be looking to get into a few new music applications. What are some of the best ways to listen to music that you may not be familiar with at the moment?
Read on and we’ll walk you through everything that you need to know.
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YouTube Music
For years, YouTube was a major place people went to watch music videos and find uploads of hard-to-find tracks. As such, it only makes sense that major internet brand decided to get into the music business themselves for real.
YouTube Music does come with a free tier that allows users access to a great number of different records and tracks. If you’re listening online, you should be able to stream just about any song that you want to hear.
This is an advantage over streamers like Pandora that only allow you to access certain playlists based on your own recommended starting points.
As you would imagine from the website, there are also tons and tons of music videos streaming in HD that you can access with your subscription. So if you’re listening to your favorite album from an artist and want to see what video they cooked up with it, that isn’t all too hard to do.
However, the service doesn’t come without certain negative aspects. The major one is that if you’re attempting to listen on your phone, you have to keep the application open in order to listen. Switching over to another application or shutting your phone screen off will also cease the music.
This can be a huge problem for people who like to listen to music while they perform other tasks. For the cost, it might be a problem worth undertaking. However, for others, it might be a total dealbreaker regardless.
This problem isn’t apparent when you try and listen to tunes from a desktop computer.
Spotify
Hands down the most popular music streaming service is Spotify, which landed in the states nearly a decade ago and changed the industry nearly instantly. Unlike its main competitor, Apple Music, Spotify does offer a free option for those looking to get the benefits of streaming without the cost.
If you’re looking to get your Apple Music songs in your Spotify library, you’ll need to learn how to get the latest version of Itunes. You can learn more about that at http://setapp.com/how-to/update-itunes-on-mac.
The downside of this free tier is that you’ll be forced to listen to advertisements every few songs. There is an option you can opt into that allows you to only hear an advertisement every 30 minutes if you agree to listen to a longer ad.
Spotify users tend to love the platform. The streamer is famous for running a killer recommendation algorithm and offering people new tunes they actually love on a weekly basis. There’s also a social tie-in that allows you to easily share music with friends, and an end-of-year summary of your listening that is always a hit with listeners.
Spotify also has become a major podcast hub, which means you can get all of your audio needs filled in one location. The major drawback to the free version of Spotify is that you won’t be able to play any track you want, all the time, from your phone.
You’ll only be able to play radio stations or playlists (though this isn’t true on the desktop version). However, if you’re just trying to create an atmosphere for yourself for free-ninety-nine, Spotify might be the way to go.
You can keep the on-demand listening for when working off of your computer.
Soundcloud and Bandcamp
What if you want to hear what the best new voices of tomorrow are up to? Many aspiring musicians are uploading their creations to two major sites online: SoundCloud and Bandcamp.
These sites allow free streaming of all tracks, often with options to purchase and download the music to support the artist if you so choose. You can listen to all the tracks on the platform anywhere, whether it be on your desktop or your phone.
SoundCloud and Bandcamp might not have all of your favorite tunes, but it can be a fantastic outlet for free music. The more you listen to both services, the better you’ll be able to get personalized recommendations.
The lack of mainstream artists on the platform will be a dealbreaker for some. But for those who want a taste of something new, these platforms both provide exactly that at no cost to the listener.
Plus, you might be able to get in on the ground floor of tomorrow’s biggest discovery. More money goes back to the actual artists when you support musicians on these platforms, which also tends to help people feel better about where their money is being spent.
Streaming services often offer paltry payoffs to artists. On these platforms, you can decide who gets paid and they’ll see the majority of the money go to them.
Free Music Apps for Desktop and Mobile
If you’re looking to get your jam on, you can’t do much better than the above free music apps. All of these services offer an incredible way to enjoy your favorite songs and discover new ones.
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