Listening to your favorite tunes in the digital age means new tunes with the click of a mouse. With download services like iTunes, virtual radio stations like Pandora and paid subscription services like MOG and Spotify, consumers can listen to digital music in a variety of ways. In fact, 43% of consumers worldwide download or stream digital music, and by 2014, streaming audio will exceed 60% of North America’s mobile data.
Downloading albums and singles can get expensive, and listening to online radio stations can be limiting, especially when you are in the mood for a certain song that just won’t play. Music subscription services like MOG and Spotify are a great in-between solution for digital music fans. Here are some comparisons of the two services to help you determine which will fit your needs, and if music subscription services are for you.
Spotify vs MOG
Available songs – Both services have extensive catalogues to help you find the songs you want. MOG lists 16 million songs, while Spotify boasts more than 20 million songs in its catalog. For both services, the number of tracks listed are the total number available – certain songs will only be available in certain areas.
Features – Both subscription services offer social sharing for digital music. Users can find friends through Facebook and Twitter, and follow their friends’ playlists and activity. Songs can also be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter, though this is where the two services differ. Because Spotify is accessed via a downloaded app, users must have the app downloaded to listen to a shared song. MOG is browser-based listening, however, so sharing is more functional on this service. MOG and Spotify both give users the ability to “favorite” songs, discover new music and create playlists. Both services offer mobile listening via apps available in the iTunes Store and on Google Play, too.
Audio quality – When you listen to Spotify on your desktop or laptop, it streams at 160 kbps, although Premium subscribers can enable a higher bit rate and raise the quality to 320 kbps. Spotify mobile quality starts at 96 kbps and can go up to 320 kbps, depending on the internet connection (Wi-Fi will allow subscribers to listen at a higher quality rate.) MOG has a slight advantage in the audio quality department: every song streams at a 320 kbps rate, so users get CD quality sound regardless of how they listen (or how much they pay.)
Pricing – Spotify and MOG have similar pricing structures, both starting with free online listening from your desktop or laptop. Spotify’s free option is supported by ads, with periodic interruptions in listening for advertisements as well as ads within the app. For $4.99 a month, Spotify users can listen to unlimited ad-free music, and for $9.99 per month, get Premium access to ad-free music on any device, as well as access to a higher music quality. MOG has virtually the same pricing, structure and availability with their Free, Basic and Primo accounts.
If you love music, these two subscription services are a great way to listen to millions of tracks without spending a million bucks building your library! Another bonus? Desktop and laptop streaming means you can hook up your music library to your surround sound or home theater system – and Spotify has teamed up with Samsung to give you streaming music through your “smart TV.”
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*Photo from MOG.com