Breaking Down the Big Three in Online Streaming
Pandora has been streaming some of our favorite personalized radio stations since the year 2000, but now there are two other big competitors vying for our attention. Spotify, Pandora and iTunes Radio (the newest entrant to the match) are the big three in free music streaming. Pandora has been with us since the beginning, but is there a better option now?
Spotify has something that the others do not; you can play whatever song you want at anytime. The purpose of the site is to make playlists to listen to and to share without needing to own the song in your music library. It is the perfect place for music discovery, with the ability to follow your audiophile Facebook friends, favorite artists, or trendy companies such as Urban Outfitters. There is also Spotify Radio, which essentially serves the same function as Pandora and iTunes Radio. You plug in your favorite, song, artist, or genre, and a playlist is automatically fetched for you.
With the new iOS 7 update, iTunes Radio is now available on all Apple devices. Given its obvious connection to iTunes, this option has the largest music catalog, thus delivering you more of your favorite sounds. Just like Pandora and Spotify, you build your stations by typing in your favorite song, artist, or genre. One unique aspect is that you have the ability to tune your station from “hits” to “discovery” when you are tired of the monotony.
Where do your loyalties lie?
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