Apple Music is better than Spotify

Walking through the halls, I only see many Apple products — the newest iPhones, watches and Airpods. While teens are using Apple for the technology, they’re are forgetting about one of the best features: Apple Music.

It makes you wonder — what gives this app so much of an appeal that, for once, Apple is knocked to the side and forced to move down to second place on the podium. As an avid Apple Music fan, I am seriously confused as to why anyone would choose Spotify.

I used to think the key ingredient to Spotify’s popularity was that you could listen to music for free, unlike Apple Music, where a monthly membership is $10 for listening to  whatever songs I want. Ironically, a lot of students actually have their own paid subscriptions to Spotify, making it no better than Apple Music. 

Apple Music has been my go-to platform since I was 12, and I started building up my Katy Perry and Taylor Swift “Faves” playlist with my family subscription without ads or waiting — the best part. Plus, the simple, uncrowded design of the app makes it easy for me to find all my downloaded songs without the unnecessary personalized playlists that clog up the home page on Spotify’s app. 

Even though I’m not impressed by the Spotify playlist specifically made for listening with your dog, I’ll give them credit because they make finding new music easier. But is it worth the clogged homepage of the app?

Apple Music does have similar features that showcase music based on songs you’ve previously listened to, but it’s laid out in a much cleaner, simpler way. Spotify would need a top-to-bottom redesign for me to be able to open it up and use it without getting a headache from the cluttered home screen.

Whenever the topic of Spotify versus Apple Music comes up, loyal Spotify users always mention the friend activity feed that you can use to stalk your friends’ music tastes on your school MacBook — which I think is kind of creepy. And honestly, I have mixed feelings for it. 

It can be fun to see what your friends are listening to and helpful for finding new songs, but there should be a line drawn at some point. Do you really want everyone seeing that you’ve got Despacito and Disney music playing on heavy rotation? When I’ve got a song stuck in my head and the only way I can get it out is by listening to it, I don’t always want an app exposing me and making everyone think I only listen to “Don’t Run Away” from Disney’s Let it Shine movie. It’s awkward to have to explain that I heard it once on TikTok and can’t stop listening. I do not want to have to explain that I heard it one time on TikTok and couldn’t stop listening.

The way Apple Music includes the feature to view your friends’ favorite songs isn’t so invasive and stalker-ish. They have a “For You” section which shows you some of the songs and albums your friends listen to, but it’s not a constant update on what they’re listening to every second. And since it’s tucked away in another section, it doesn’t feel so vital to look at it right when you open the app. 

“When you glance up at your friend activity on Spotify, it unnecessarily makes you double take on your own music. Is mine similar enough? Too weird to listen to? Will they judge if they see me listening to it on their screen? Spotify almost turns listening to music into a form of social media, which shouldn’t be the point.

Other than the fact that everyone uses it, Spotify’s reverence and popularity is misplaced. I don’t think I’ll ever understand exactly why people love it so much. The only reason I can come up with is that nobody wants to be the only one opening Apple Music in a room full of Spotify users.”

If kids are working on something in school while listening to music, they should be more focused on their classwork than what their friends are listening to. Spotify almost turns listening to music into another form of social media, which shouldn’t be the point.

Other than the fact that everyone else uses it, I don’t understand why people love Spotify so much. The only reason I can come up with is that nobody wants to be the only one opening Apple Music in a class full of students using the green and black wifi circle to listen to music.