Customers in the US can take advantage of the service’s first-ever free plan, called ‘Tidal Free’, which offers the company’s complete library of 100 million tracks at 160kbps with “limited interruptions” from Tidal that will “aim to educate consumers on the music industry.” So if you're looking to try something new, which is the best music streaming service for you? Read on to find out.īut hi-res and CD-quality streams aren’t the be-all and end-all of Tidal’s offering. After all, when your playlists are set up and your listening habits are learned by a certain service, it's harder to decide to switch. But you don't have to sacrifice quality Tidal, Apple, Amazon and Qobuz all have subscription tiers that allow you to access CD-quality and even hi-res streams.Īs paid-for access to music takes over from outright ownership, users are likely to be signed up to one service or another for decades to come, so it makes sense to fully investigate what's out there before blindly committing to a rolling subscription for the rest of your life. Those concerned less by the outright quality and more with getting bang for your buck can listen to compressed streams at 320kbps from the likes of Spotify. The audio quality of these streams varies between services. There are also discounts to be had for students, as well as savings if you share your account with another person or your household. Once you decide to pay, it's usually by way of a set monthly subscription fee, though some services, such as Qobuz, offer a reduction if you sign up for a full year. You can also check out the best free music apps if you're tight on budget. The good news is that most services offer new users free trials – typically a month but sometimes up to three – and some, like Spotify, have a free tier (supported by adverts with limited playback options) so you can try out a services interface and curation before you buy. There's a wide range of streaming services to choose from, offering unlimited access to vast catalogues of music, which can be streamed over the internet or a mobile network or downloaded directly to your device for offline listening.

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