I have a confession to make: I am still an old-fashioned iTunes girl. I buy what I want from the iTunes Store, listen to it from the “music” app on my phone, and very rarely venture into streaming. I know that the world has moved on, into the likes of Spotify, Pandora, and Amazon Prime Music, but I am firmly planted in my old ways.
To be honest, that was the appeal of Apple Music. It’s like iTunes, but with steaming added. I liked that I still had access to my full, unchanged iTunes library, and that it was within the Music app that I already use. So last semester, I finally caved and got the free trial. Here’s what I thought:
Look at that interface!
The Pros:
I love the Apple Music interface. This may be nit-picky, but I think that Apple has WAY more beautiful interfaces than any other brand. Apple music looks beautiful and has an incredible user experience. Spotify just doesn’t compare.
Apple Music integrates seamlessly* with your existing iTunes library. Unlike other streaming services, all of your iTunes music, and, very importantly, your playlists, coexist with your subscription-based music in a single, streamlined app.
*I did have some initial troubles where my iPhone deleted some of my music from CDs, but once I fixed it, it was lovely.
Taylor Swift. (Enough said.)
Offline downloads go straight into your regular iTunes library, which makes it really simple to play them alongside your purchased music.
New music is available immediately. There is no delay between a song’s overall release date and its release onto Apple Music.
Your favorite artists get paid (an infinitesimal amount of money that eventually adds up to something) every time you play their songs, even during your free trial. (Thanks, Taylor Swift!)
There are curated playlists made by actual, music-loving professional humans. Depending on your taste, the curated playlists can be a great tool for discovering new music in your favorite genres.
The selection is unparalleled; Apple Music seems to have ~almost~ everything.
Image caption: Think of all the coffee that you’re not buying.
The Cons:
It costs money. While Apple does offer a $5 student rate, that’s still 1.25 fewer cups of coffee that you’re spending on music streaming instead, and as I’ve written before, I LOVE coffee.
Not everything that’s on iTunes is on Apple Music. While Apple music does have an incredible selection, there are a few albums and artists that aren’t on Apple Music. There are still a few albums that you will have to buy if you want to listen to them.
If you like really obscure music, there may not be many (if any) curated playlists for you. I listen to six artists about 80% of the time, so I was really hoping that an Apple Music subscription would expose me to new music. However, Apple Music’s playlists in my favorite genre, Christian Worship Music, are absolutely abysmal. They consist solely of the Christian Top-40, which, as a Christian music hipster, I cannot stand. Apple Music’s hipster game is strong, but unfortunately for me, their Christian hipster game is nonexistent.
You can’t burn CDs. Now, I know that this is a real #throwback, but I don’t have an aux cord in my car, so I rely on my trusty 6-CD changer, and mix CDs burned from my computer. (Again, Christian music hipster, the music I like doesn’t exist on the radio.) Since Apple Music downloads are licensed differently than purchased music, they aren’t actually yours, so the files have all sorts of restrictions.
If you cancel your subscription, you lose all of your downloaded music. Just like any subscription service, you can’t keep anything that you listen to beyond the lifetime of your subscription.
My Recommendation:
Try it for yourself! Ultimately, when my free trial ended, I went back to good, old-fashioned (and rapidly becoming outdated) iTunes. I am still just listening to the same six artists (please don’t judge me!), and I’m inevitably going to buy all of their albums, so why pay for access to more music that I’ll never listen to? However, if you are less exclusive in your music interests, or already subscribe to another streaming service, Apple Music may be a great option for you. Even if you’re an iTunes loyalist like me, there’s no harm in checking out the free trial, so give it a try, and let me know what you think in the comments!
Image Credit: Maggie Griffin, Apple Music