Top 20 Best HighEnd Online Music Streaming Services

STREAMING media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a provider. The verb "to stream" refers to the process of delivering or obtaining media in this manner; the term refers to the delivery method of the medium, rather than the medium itself, and is an alternative to file downloading, a process in which the end-user obtains the entire file for the content before watching or listening to it.

Streaming is an alternative to file downloading, a process in which the end-user obtains the entire file for the content before watching or listening to it. Through streaming, an end-user can use their media player to start playing digital video or digital audio content before the entire file has been transmitted. The term "streaming media" can apply to media other than video and audio, such as live closed captioning, ticker tape, and real-time text, which are all considered "streaming text".

A music download is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a home computer, MP3 player or smartphone. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyrighted material without permission or legal payment. According to a Nielsen report, downloadable music accounted for 55.9% of all music sales in the US in 2012. By the beginning of 2011, Apple's iTunes Store alone made US$1.1 billion of revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal year.

U.S. album sales declined in 2017 as streaming continues to grow, according to Nielsen’s year-end music report released this week. The report found that album sales, including both digital and physical, fell 17.7 percent last year to 169.15 million copies, down from 205.5 million in 2016. Meanwhile, streaming once again soared, leading the overall music industry to growth, largely due to the significant 58.7 percent increase in on-demand audio streams over last year. In total, on-demand audio streams surpassed 400 billion streams in 2017, compared to 252 billion in 2016, and overall on-demand streams, including video, exceeded 618 billion. This led to the music industry’s growth of 12.5 percent in total volume, over 2016.

Online Music Streaming Services News, Reviews & Resources

• $1.6 BILLION SPOTIFY LAWSUIT IS BASED ON A LAW MADE FOR PLAYER PIANOS - "The hidden costs of streaming music."
• 3D audio effect - a group of sound effects that manipulate the sound produced by stereo speakers, surround-sound speakers, speaker-arrays, or headphones. This frequently involves the virtual placement of sound sources anywhere in three-dimensional space, including behind, above or below the listener.
• 10 BEST VPN SERVICES 2021 - "A VPN, or virtual private network, is an easy way to improve your online privacy. We've reviewed scores of them, and these are the best VPN services we've tested." PCMagazine.
• 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - "For the first time in 17 years, we’ve completely remade our list of the best songs ever. More than 250 artists, writers, and industry figures helped us choose a brand-new list full of historic favorites, world-changing anthems, and new classics." Rolling Stone.
• A Field Guide to Streaming Music Services - The Wall Street Journal.
• A first look at Spotify on the Apple Watch - The Verge.
• ACHIEVE AUDIOPHILE SUPERIORITY WITH THESE STREAMING AMPS - "STREAMING MUSIC DOESN’T have to mean compromised sound. These hi-fi amps can help you find cloud-connected aural ecstasy."
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• Acram ST60 Streamer - s4 digital inputs - Balanced XLR and Single ended RCA analogue outputs - Optical and coaxial digital outputs - GoogleCast, Airplay2, uPnP Streamer.
• Adele convinces Spotify to change the way it plays albums - "Adele wants you to listen to her album in order, and Spotify agrees."
• Amazon Music is growing faster than Spotify - "The number of Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers grew 70 percent in the past year."
• AMARRA - "Breathtaking Sound." Digital Audio for Professionals & Music Enthusiasts. "You’ve never heard such depth, richness and character from your music; rock, blues, classical or hip-hop, doesn’t matter - the same music you’ve listened to for years sounds better with Amarra." Works with your existing iTunes library.
• Amazon Music's spatial audio now works on any headphones - "HD music and spatial audio tracks are included with Unlimited plans."
• Apple Music for Android offers more details on upcoming lossless streaming - "Evidence points to two tiers of lossless audio."
• Apple Music is becoming the best streaming service - "Spatial Audio is changing everything on Apple Music, at no extra cost."
• Apple Music Is Strong on Design, Weak on Social Networking - The New York Times.
• Apple Music, Spotify and a Guide to Music Streaming Services - The New York Times.
• Apple Music trolls Spotify by calling itself 'the home of Neil Young' - "Just a day after Spotify agreed to remove Neil Young's music from its service, Apple Music trolled its streaming rival by giving the musician some rock star treatment."
• Apple Music will offer Dolby Atmos & lossless streaming starting next month - "You won't have to pay extra for either one."
• Apple Music's Digital Masters catalog helps you find high-quality tunes - "It's not lossless audio, but it could be close enough."
• Apple Music's Siri-only plan is now available as iOS 15.2 rolls out - "Apple has released its latest firmware updates for iPhone and iPad. One of the more notable features Apple is adding in iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2 is the Voice Plan for Apple Music. For $5 per month, subscribers can access the full library of songs, playlists and radio stations via Siri."
• Apple spatial audio: what is it? How do you get it? And is it like Dolby Atmos? - "Everything you need to know about Apple’s 3D audio tech for Apple Music and movie soundtracks."
• Apple Watch just took a massive step towards being my favorite running watch - "Finally, the battle with Spotify is over."
• Apple’s Spatial Audio is a music revolution, but you'll need to ditch the headphones - "The emergence of streaming Atmos music makes for a thrilling experience - if you do it right."
• AUDIRVANA - "The Sound of Your Dreams." Audirvana is the creator of high-end audiophile players for the Mac platform, aiming at the best possible sound quality.
• Beatles Albums to Go on Streaming Services at Midnight - The New York Times.
• Beats Music - (2014-2015). Was a subscription-based online music streaming service owned by the Beats Electronics division of Apple Inc. The service combined algorithm-based personalization with expert music suggestions from a variety of sources.
• Before you pay for high-fidelity streaming music, try to pass this lossless audio test - "Even if you consider yourself an audiophile, you probably don’t need to pay extra for lossless music. At least, not in order to make your music sound better."
• best DACs for Apple Music Lossless in 2021 - "All the equipment you need to listen to hifi audio wherever you are."
• Best music streaming services 2019: free streams to hi-res audio - What Hi-Fi?
• Best Online Music Streaming Services for 2021 - "Music makes life better, no matter if you're looking to power through the workday or an intense workout. These top, tested picks deliver the tunes you need to stay entertained all day long." PCMag.
• Cayin RU6 Review - "Vinyl sound" from your phone - "The Cayin RU6 provides a taste of hi-fi sound in pocket size and is a reminder of how much better wired headphones sound."
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• Chord Mojo 2 - since 1989. "Portable DAC/Headphone Amplifier. Simply without equal." Mojo 2 is the most advanced DAC/headphone amplifier in the world. It plays your favourite music with class-leading detail and clarity, right up to studio-grade levels.
• Comparison of digital music stores - "Digital music stores sell copies of digital audio, for example in MP3 and WAV file formats. Unlike music streaming services, which typically charge a monthly subscription fee to stream digital audio, online music stores download songs to the customer's hard disk drive of their device. The customer will have the copy of the song permanently on their disk, provided the track is not deleted by the customer, the disk does not get physically damaged, or suffers from being corrupted."
• Comparison of music streaming services - "The following is a list of on-demand music streaming services. The services offer streaming of full-length content via the Internet as a part of their service, without the listener necessarily purchasing a file for download. This type of service is comparable to Internet radio. Many of these sites have advertising and offer non-free options in the style of an online music store."
• DATA TO DATE: THE RAPID RISE OF SOCIAL and STREAMING - Next Big Sound.
• Digital-to-analog converter (DAC) - system that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse function.
• Dolby Atmos - surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects. Following the release of Atmos for the cinema market, a variety of consumer technologies have been released under the Atmos brand, using in-ceiling and up-firing speakers.
• Dolby Atmos: The ins, outs & sounds of the object-based surround system - "An in-depth guide to the spatial audio technology. In brief, Dolby Atmos is a new audio format that allows you to hear sound in a 360-degree bubble. With its object-oriented audio engineering and its up-or-down-firing speakers, Atmos is changing the way home theaters are setup and, more importantly, how sound is distributed in the room."
• Dynamic head tracking is now available in Apple Music - "So long as you have iOS 15 and the right AirPods, that is."
• Everything new with Apple Music on iOS 16 - "One of the reasons to be excited about a WWDC is previewing what’s coming to Apple Music. With iOS 16, unfortunately, Apple didn’t announce a ton of new features to its music streaming service - different from all the other years. That said, there are still a few functions and tweaks that users will love when using Apple Music with iOS 16."
• FAKE NAME GENERATOR - "Generate a Random Name." The most advanced name generator. With 30 languages and 22 countries, the Fake Name Generator is the most advanced name generator on the internet.
• For Spotify, music might not actually be the key to success - "The music-streaming space is competitive and crowded, with Apple, Google, Amazon, Pandora, Tidal, iHeart Radio and dozens more battling for ears. But Spotify is the lead player, with more than 113 million paid subscribers."
• From Beethoven’s Ninth to Theme from Shaft: the best exercise anthems - "Soul classics, German film soundtracks and chugging rap - here’s a workout of bangers to get you off the couch."
• Google announces YouTube Music & YouTube Premium - "Goodbye, YouTube Red; hello, new premium services."
• Here's How Apple's iPod Lasted for 20 Years - "The gadget survived music streaming, rival players and the iPhone."
• HOT 100 - Billboard: the week's most popular songs across all genres, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions.
• How to Actually Listen to Apple Music's Lossless Tracks on Your iPhone - "You need a portable DAC (and a good pair of wired headphones). These are the best ones to amp up your Apple Music experience."
• How to AirPlay content to your Mac using macOS Monterey - "One of the neat ways macOS Monterey upgrades Apple desktops and notebooks is turning them into AirPlay targets. Follow along for how to AirPlay to Mac including what hardware works with the new feature and how to enable it with older devices."
• How to listen to spatial & hi def music streaming, CD/HD, Ultra HD, Dolby Atmos & 360 Reality Audio - "Spatial audio and higher definition audio are great ways to listen to high quality music via Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, Tidal and other streaming services but how can you setup your phone, speakers, headphones etc to listen to at the best audio quality level?"
• How to move your Spotify playlists to Apple Music - The Telegraph.
• How You Can Block the Music of Problematic Artists From Playing on Your Music App. Here's How - "If you’re a fan of streaming music, personalized playlists, and mixes made 'just for you,' you’ve no doubt run into some boring, bad and even downright offensive songs you’d rather not hear again. And if you’re familiar with the news surrounding today’s most popular artists, you probably have a running list of artists who you’d rather never hear again - no matter how good their newest single may be - because of their misogyny, or racism, or other problematic behavior."
• In big tech’s dystopia, cat videos earn millions while real artists beg for tips - "Instead of paying musicians properly, the likes of Spotify have set up ‘donation’ buttons - thus passing the buck to fans."
• Inside the booming business of background music - "Once derided, the successors to muzak have grown more sophisticated - and influential - than any of us realise."
• Internet Archive - founded in 1996. "Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine."
• iOS 15 brings next-level spatial audio to Apple Music - but there's a catch - "Want the new immersive head-tracking tech? Get ready to feel Apple's not-so-gentle nudge towards its own flagship AirPods..."
• Joe Rogan: rise of a highly controversial cultural power - "In a row over Covid misinformation, Spotify sided with the wildly successful podcast host over Neil Young."
• Joni Mitchell wants songs off Spotify in Covid row - "Singer Joni Mitchell has joined Neil Young in asking for her music to be removed from Spotify over Covid misinformation concerns."
• Khadas' Tea DAC is a compelling MagSafe accessory - "This MagSafe DAC makes so much sense."
• Lindemann Limetree Network II Music Streamer: Review - "German-made hi-res audio music streamer features a built-in headphone amp with ES9038 Hypersteam2-DAC and analog volume control."
• Lossless audio streaming: Is it worth it? - "With an increase in audio quality, you can expect to pay a bit more than your usual monthly fee, which begs the question: Is lossless audio streaming worth it? The short answer is a definite yes if you can afford it. The long answer is a little more convoluted. If you love your music and getting the most out of your favourite artists, then stick around as we dig a little deeper."
• Lossless compression - "Lossless compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data. By contrast, lossy compression permits reconstruction only of an approximation of the original data, though usually with greatly improved compression rates (and therefore reduced media sizes)."
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• Matrix Audio - since 2009. "Hi-fi digital audio company founded in 2009. Their DAC's, amplifiers, digital streamers and other products focus on providing high performance, great usability and quality." The element X is also a dual-mode headphone amplifier based on the LME49600 and consisting of four independent amplifier units.
• MUSIC Download - Wikipedia.
• Music Genome Project - was an effort to "capture the essence of music at the fundamental level" using almost 400 attributes to describe songs and a complex mathematical algorithm to organize them.
• Music streaming on Apple Watch Series 3 is a surprisingly nice feature to have - The Verge.
• NEXUS Q - "World's first social streaming media player from Google."
• Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' sets the Spotify record for most streams in a day - "Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' has set Spotify's record for most streams in a day for a non-holiday song, the streaming service has announced."
• On-demand streaming now accounts for the majority of audio consumption, says Nielsen - TechCrunch.
• OVERPLAY - "By rerouting your internet connection through our worldwide VPN servers you can: change your IP address to one in another country; improve your security by ensuring your internet traffic is encrypted; access content that is normally restricted at your location."
• People are giving up on Apple Music - The Verge.
• Petflix & chill: does your dog need a streaming service? - "The attention economy has turned its eye to a new audience: household pets."
• Philips Hue partners with Spotify to turn all your lights into a music visualizer - "Hue lights can change based on mood, tempo, and more."
• Playlist - in its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. They can be played in sequential or shuffled order.
• Qobuz ditches MP3-quality streaming for a single hi-res plan - "It hopes to reel you in with a better price for high-quality audio."
• Qobuz Duo lets two people share one hi-res streaming subscription (and save) - "Qobuz isn't the world's biggest music streaming service, but it is a firm favourite with those who seek hi-res audio streams. And now, two people under the same roof can share the experience."
• Qobuz's hi-res music streaming service comes to the US - "It puts quality over quantity."
• Qualcomm has found a way to support lossless audio over Bluetooth headphones - could Apple be next? - "Since Apple introduced lossless audio to Apple Music, the limitations of Bluetooth technology when it comes to bandwidth have become very clear. However, as the world moves toward a future with wireless headphones, companies have been working to deliver lossless audio over a wireless connection - which is exactly what Qualcomm has just announced."
• RAPIDSHARE - founded in 2002. "Your Pictures, Videos, Documents & Music..." One-click hosting service that offers both free and commercial services. RapidShare is one of the world's largest file-hosting sites, with 10 petabytes of files on its servers, and handling up to three million users simultaneously.
• Sony Announces Two New Premium High-End Digital Audio Players - "Most of us play music on our smartphones, but audiophiles demand a higher standard and the market is large enough for big players in the consumer electronics industry to produce premium digital audio players for people who simply must have the best audio quality possible. Today, Sony is announcing two new premium music players including new the Signature Series Walkman NW-WM1ZM2 and the NW-WM1AM2. Both models have been designed with audiophiles in mind and have been fine-tuned and are crafted from high-quality materials. Sony says the new players set a benchmark for Sony’s award-winning signature series, offering an exquisite listening experience in an ultra-premium design. The NW-WM1ZM2 and NW-WM1AM2 are Wi-Fi compatible and run Android 11, giving access to a vast collection of genres and artists, from all around the world. Listeners can choose to stream favorite music streaming or download music files by connecting to a PC to download tracks and playlists."
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• Sony Walkman Signature Series - "Pure listening indulgence." Part of the Signature Series, the WM1ZM2 sets a new benchmark in pure sound quality and listening sophistication. Crafted with fine materials and meticulous attention to detail, and offering the ease of downloading and streaming music, this is audio at its most indulgent.
• Spatial audio - "Spatial audio is Apple's term for a collection of audio technologies that bring 360-degree effects to video calls, movies and remixed music. Apple first introduced spatial audio on its AirPods Pro earbuds in 2020, and the company is now expanding the capabilities of other devices in the range."
• SPOTIFY IS OUT OF CONTRACT WITH ALL THREE MAJOR LABELS - AND WANTS TO PAY THEM LESS - Music Business Worldwide.
• Spotify launches a sleek standalone app for Cadillac vehicle - The Verge.
• Spotify launches curated podcast playlists in a bid to make the platform a podcast tastemaker - "Localized playlists for six countries."
• Spotify overheats iPhones on iOS 15, rapidly drains battery - "Music streaming service Spotify has confirmed iPhone user complaints that its app drains around 30% battery per hour of streaming. Exceptionally high battery drain, also making iPhones run hot, are being reported by Spotify users who have upgrade from iOS 14.8 to iOS 15. The company says it is investigating."
• Spotify reportedly paid $200 million for Joe Rogan’s podcast - "Double what was initially reported."
• Spotify says it will remove Neil Young's music, according to reports - "Spotify will no longer stream the music of Neil Young. For what it's worth, he asked for it."
• Spotify: Streaming giant announces plans to clamp down on Covid misinformation - "Spotify says that it is working to add advisory warnings to any podcast on its platform that discusses Covid-19."
• Spotify vs. Apple Music: THE BEST MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE - The Verge.
• Spotify Wrapped 2021 is here to take over your social media - "You can share it to TikTok and interact with other Spotify listeners with blended playlists or a card game."
• Spotify Wrapped: users alarmed by their own listening habits - "Streaming service gave subscribers a look back at their entire decade of music consumption."
• SPOTIFY’S LATEST PURCHASE IS ABOUT BECOMING THE PLACE YOU LISTEN TO EVERYTHING - "Why it bought an audiobook company."
• Spotify’s problems are bigger than Joe Rogan - "A lack of transparency is eroding trust."
• Spotify’s paying customers will soon get separate play & shuffle buttons - "You won’t see the combined play / shuffle button on your playlists anymore."
• 'Streaming has killed the mainstream': the decade that broke popular culture - "We forget ‘seminal’ albums and TV shows months after consuming them, and the mega-famous have to resort to ruses to get our attention - has streaming destroyed the mainstream?"
• Streaming is now the US music industry's biggest money maker - "It just edged out downloads in 2015."
• Streaming media - is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements.
• Streaming now accounts for 80 percent of the US music market - "It made up just seven percent in 2010, according to RIAA stats."
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• Tea - Ultraslim Hi-Res Headphone Amplifier - "High Definition Music. Lossless Streaming Audio." MagSafe compatible: "Khadas Tea" magnetically attaches to your iPhone 12 or newer smartphone, or an Android phone equipped with a MagSafe compatible case. No more messy wires and dongles, just freedom of pure style. 'Tea' measures just 7.95mm at its thickest point, which means it can still comfortably slip into your pocket even when magnetically attached to your smartphone. 'Tea' brings back the analog audio jack to your smartphone with 3.5mm output, so you can use your favourite high-fidelity headphones to listen to lossless streaming audio directly from your streaming app. Supports up to 300 ohm impedances.
• THE BEST MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE - "Popular music streaming services compared."
• The magic that makes Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlists so damn good - Quartz.
• The Verge 2017 tech report card: Streaming music
• Tips for Getting the Most Out of Spotify - Wired.
• Top of the flops: is streaming rendering the charts obsolete? - "Record companies might disagree, but exclusives, eligibility algorithms, bundling and ‘streaming farms’ are threatening to ruin the Top 40."
• TORRENT FREAK - weblog dedicated to bringing the latest news about BitTorrent and everything that is closely related to this popular filesharing protocol.
• Trust Your Ears. Dolby Atmos on Apple Music Doesn’t Sound “Right” - "Back in May, Apple announced a partnership with Dolby to deliver Spatial Music to all Apple Music subscribers. Keenly paired with Apple’s Airpods line of headphones, this is immersive audio’s most significant move to the mainstream. Those listening closely have noticed that their favorite songs sound different, and not just because of the obvious remix in surround sound. It seems that Apple’s flavor of Dolby Atmos sounds quite different from what is heard in the studio. At the risk of sounding reductive, Atmos+Apple Music sounds bad."
• We've blended vinyl with streaming to create a sensational hi-fi system - "Four Award-winning products form an unbeatable team." What Hi-Fi?
• Why Spotify can’t afford to lose Joe Rogan - "The thinking behind an easy decision. You’ve probably seen this by now, but to catch you up if not: On Monday, Neil Young issued an ultimatum to Spotify: keep Joe Rogan or me. It can’t have both on the service."
• Your Next iPod Could & Probably Should, Be an Apple Watch - "'I ditched my iPod ages ago, because the computer on my wrist was more convenient.'"
• YouTube Music, a new music streaming service, is coming soon - Official YouTube Blog.
• YouTube Music will transfer your Google Play songs with one click - "Playlists, uploads, purchased music and more all come over with one click."
• YouTube Music's redesigned playback screen includes lyrics - "It's also much easier to shuffle or repeat tracks."

Top 20 Best High-End Online Music Streaming Services

• Amazon Music Unlimited - since 2007. "75 million songs in HD ad-free. On Demand Music, Always Ad Free. Listen Offsline With Unlimited Skips. Millions of Podcast Episodes." Experience Spatial Audio: Hear your favorite music like never before with fully immersive, three-dimensional sound. Discover the HD Difference: High-quality streaming audio lets you hear music the way the artist intended, with more clarity, richness and raw emotion. Why listen any other way? 3 MONTHS FREE. Limited-time only. Starts at $7.99/month after. New subscribers only. Terms apply.
• Apple Music - since June 30, 2015. "Music Lives Here. Lose yourself in 75 million songs." Music streaming service by Apple Inc. Users select music on a device, which then plays on the device via Internet streaming. The service also provides music recommendations based on user taste. While Apple Music's cost and music library are similar to other music streaming services, the service aims to distinguish itself with added features and content exclusives. US$9.99 / month for single license US$99.00 / year for single license US$14.99 / month for family license US$4.99 / month for student.
• Deezer - since 2007. French online music streaming service. It allows users to listen to music content from record labels including Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group (whose parent company access industries also owns) on various devices online or offline. Created in Paris, France, Deezer currently has 53 million licensed tracks in its library, with over 30,000 radio channels, 14 million monthly active users, and 6 million paid subscribers as of 3 April 2018. The service is available for Web, Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry OS and Windows, MacOS.
• EMUSIC - since 1998. "Discover and Download Music." A blockchain-based music distribution platform that pays artist more fairly and efficiently. Discover and download music with our free personalized discovery tools. Read reviews, listen to samples, and buy tracks or albums from your favorite artists. Over 20 million independent artist songs and albums with new hundreds new added each month.
• Google Play - since 2012. Bringing together the Android Market, Google Music, and the Google eBookstore under one brand, marking a shift in Google's digital distribution strategy. The services included in the Google Play are Google Play Books, Google Play Games, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Play Music. Following their re-branding, Google has gradually expanded the geographical support for each of the services.
• Google Play Music - since 2011. "40 millions songs on-demand." Music and podcast streaming service and online music locker operated by Google. With a paid subscription to Google Play Music, in addition to the standard features users get access to on-demand streaming of 40 million songs, without advertisements during listening, no limit on number of skips, and offline music playback on the mobile apps. A one-time 30-day free trial for a subscription to Google Play Music is offered for new users. Paid subscribers also receive access to YouTube Premium (including YouTube Music) in eligible countries.
• HYPE MACHINE - since 2005. "The place for the best new music. Every day, thousands of people around the world write about music they love - and it all ends up here." It aggregates the most recently posted songs from a selection of music blogs (about 800) and lists them on the website's main page. Users have the ability to "love" songs, which saves the song to their Loved List. The site has thirteen different genres to select music from. Users can also select the "Latest" tracks from categories including "Freshest", "Remixes Only", "No Remixes", and blogs in the user's country. Hype Machine also provides a full directory of the blogs from which their database of music is derived. Additionally, Hype Machine maintains a Popular List for the last three days and the previous week, both of which are determined by the number of "loves" given to each song by users.
• ITUNES - since 2001. "50 million songs. Zero ads." Stream over 50 million songs, ad-free. Or download albums and tracks to listen to offline. All the music in your personal iTunes library - no matter where it came from - lives right alongside the Apple Music catalog. Start your free three-month trial with no commitment, and cancel anytime. iTunes is the best way to organize and enjoy the music, movies, and TV shows you already have - and shop for the ones you want. Enjoy all the entertainment iTunes has to offer on your Mac and PC.
• LAST.FM - since 2002. "Explore Top Music Powered by your Scrobbles." We bring together your favourite music services and join up listening, watching and sharing to connect your musical world. Need new music? Last.fm lets you effortlessly keep a record of what you listen to from any player. Based on your taste, Last.fm recommends you more music and concerts!
• Napster - since 2005. "Napster is the original music service, created by music lovers for music lovers. We have a huge catalogue of over 40 million tracks, with new music added every day. You can play all the music you want, as often as you want."
• Openwhyd - since 2012. "Discover and collect the best music tracks from the web." Discover and collect music gems from Youtube, Soundcloud, Deezer and more.
• Pandora - since 2000. "Listen to Free Music You'll Love. At Pandora, we have a single mission: To play only music you'll love. To understand just how we do this, and why we think we do it really, really well, you need to know about the Music Genome Project. Since we started back in 2000, we have been hard at work on the Music Genome Project. It's the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. With Pandora you can explore this vast trove of music to your heart's content. Just drop the name of one of your favorite songs, artists or genres into Pandora and let the Music Genome Project go." Pandora is only available in the U.S. right now - but we are working on bringing our music service to other parts of the world.
• PlayStation Music - since 2015. On-demand streaming music service powered by Spotify. Providing free and premium access to over 30 million tracks, it is available in 41 markets via the PlayStation Network on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xperia tablet and mobile devices.
• Primephonic Classical Streaming - since 2014. "The streaming service designed for classical music." Easy search. Premium sound. Inspiring recommendations. Explore new works, discover hidden gems and gain insights behind the classics. From classic recordings to the very latest releases, the biggest labels to the most obscure indies – the Primephonic catalogue has you covered, with new albums being added every day. If an album is available in 24-bit, that’s what you get. Primephonic is a Dutch-American start-up founded by a team of classical music lovers with the ambition to create a better future for classical music by finally developing a streaming service that gets classical right. Get your 14-day free trial now.
• Qobuz - since 2007. "70 Million Tracks. Artist-Approved Sound." The richest Hi-Res catalogue available for streaming and download. French commercial music streaming and downloading service. Qobuz offers all music in MP3 at 320 kbps, CD-DA quality lossless (16-bit/44.1 kHz) as well as hi-res quality lossless (up to 24-bit/192 kHz) for certain music; downloads are offered in either WAV, AIFF, ALAC, and FLAC for hi-res quality, with lossless WMA also available for CD quality music only, and MP3, standard WMA, and AAC in 128 kbps or 320 kbps for lossy quality. Qobuz and Tidal are the only available hi-res streaming services for popular music, as Deezer's HiFi plan includes CD quality at most, and Primephonic provides only classical music. Qobuz currently offers four plans: Studio Premier (Base subscription, monthly as well as annual with discount), and Studio Sublime (An annual-only subscription that adds a discount on downloads,) as well as Family variants, with up to six users, of each plan.
• SOUNDCLOUD - since 2007. "Hear the world’s sounds." Online audio distribution platform and music sharing website based in Berlin, Germany that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. SoundCloud is the world’s leading social sound platform where anyone can create sounds and share them everywhere. Recording and uploading sounds to SoundCloud lets people easily share them privately with their friends or publicly to blogs, sites and social networks. It takes just a click to share sounds to Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Foursquare. SoundCloud can be accessed anywhere using the official iPhone and Android apps, as well as hundreds of creation and sharing apps built on the SoundCloud platform.
• SPOTIFY - since 2006. "Listening is everything. Millions of songs and podcasts. No credit card needed." Spotify offers digital copyright restricted recorded music and podcasts, including more than 70 million songs, from record labels and media companies. As a freemium service, basic features are free with advertisements and limited control, while additional features, such as offline listening and commercial-free listening, are offered via paid subscriptions. Users can search for music based on artist, album, or genre, and can create, edit, and share playlists. The best way to listen to music and podcasts on mobile or tablet. Spotify is now free on mobile, tablet and computer. Listen to the right music, wherever you are. Millions of songs on your computer, on your mobile and available offline. Brought to you ad free. It is one of the world's largest music streaming service providers, with over 356 million monthly active users, including 158 million paying subscribers, as of March 2021.
• Tidal - since 2014. "Clearly the best sound. All your favorite music. Best sound quality available. With our library of over 70 million tracks and 250,000 videos, you’ll get the ultimate music experience." Subscription-based music streaming service that combines lossless audio and high definition music videos with curated editorial. The service has over 25 million tracks and 75,000 music videos. Currently offering no free subscription plans, Tidal claims to pay the highest percentage of royalties to music artists and songwriters within the music streaming market.
• TUNECORE - since 2005. "The best way to sell your music on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify & more." TuneCore principally offers musicians and other rights-holders the opportunity to distribute and sell or stream their music through online retailers such as iTunes, Deezer, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play, Tidal, and others. TuneCore also offers music publishing administration services, helping songwriters register their compositions and collect royalties internationally.
• YouTube Music - since 2015. Mobile app developed by YouTube; it provides a tailored version of the service oriented towards music streaming, allowing users to browse through music videos on YouTube based on genres, playlists, and recommendations. The service integrates with the YouTube Red subscription service, which enables ad-free and audio-only background playback. As of May 2019, the app is available in 50 countries.