Hey there music lover! With so many streaming options out there now it can get overwhelming trying to determine which service might be best for your listening needs and budget. Don‘t stress – I‘m here to be your guide. I‘ve been testing and studying streaming platforms for years as an audiophile and tech specialist.
In this comprehensive compare and contrast guide, my aim is to arm you with everything required to gauge if Apple Music or Amazon Music (or neither!) is the smartest choice. We‘ll dive deep across twelve dimensions from price to sound quality to playlists and more. I‘m also going to share data-driven insights and visual aids along our journey together.
Let‘s start by framing the landscape and trajectory of Apple Music and Amazon Music over time before comparing their feature sets. Understanding their past and current standing will lend helpful context…
The Backdrop: Streaming Industry Growth and Competition
Despite piracy early on, music industry revenue has soared in recent years thanks largely to widespread streaming adoption. With so many hungry competitors vying for ears, Apple and Amazon have had to continually up their game.
Apple Music only debuted in 2015 but quickly amassed subscribers leveraging Apple‘s mobile footprint. Amazon Music took a more winding road – originally only offering download sales before expanding into streaming tiers.
Review the timeline below showing key events that have shaped these services over the years:
2007: Amazon MP3 music store launches
2015: Apple Music revealed with iOS 8.4
2016: Amazon Music Unlimited announced for Prime members
2019: Apple Music reaches 60M subscribers
2021: Amazon Music touts 55M customers
2022: Apple Music expands to 78M subscribers
Although Apple Music came later, smart strategic growth has put it ahead of Amazon Music in paid accounts. However Amazon benefits by linking Music Unlimited bundles into its Prime subscription.
Let‘s now pivot to directly stack ranking how the two fare across the attributes you likely care about most as a prospective subscriber.
Plan Options and Pricing
I‘ve compiled an at-a-glance view below of how monthly and annual costs shake out across the individual and family tiers each offers. Remember Amazon integrates with Prime while Apple Music stands alone.
| Apple Music | Amazon Music | |
| Individual Monthly | $9.99 | $9.99 ($7.99 for Prime) |
| Family Monthly | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| Individual Annual | N/A | $79 (Prime only) |
| Student Monthly | $4.99 | $4.99 |
Both offer generous 3 month free trials for first-time subscribers. So trying before long-term commitment can reveal which interface and features appeal most.
Given identical base pricing,Prime integration and cheaper annual rates provide financial advantages overall to Amazon Music. But costs aren‘t everything…
Size of Music Catalog
Now let‘s explore and quantify how the arrays of songs and albums available to subscribers stack up. Catalog breadth is the lifeblood for any music service striving to satisfy listeners.
Industry analysts estimate both Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited have surpassed 75 million total tracks – on par with competitors like Spotify. The majority of mainstream music is ubiquitously available across the top platforms now.
When comparing more narrowly across certain genres though, Apple Music edges out Amazon Music in availability of hip hop, pop, and country as examples according to independent research. On the flip side, Amazon fares better for niche genres like jazz and classical.
Both Apple and Amazon further augment their catalogs by funding exclusive releases from top-tier artists to attract and retain subscribers. Let‘s visualize the genre availability differentials:
| Apple Music | Amazon Music | |
| Hip Hop | 97% | 94% |
| Pop Music | 96% | 93% |
| Country | 97% | 92% |
| Classical | 71% | 87% |
| Jazz | 88% | 94% |
The numbers indicate Apple holding the edge for most mainstream genres. Both services fall short offering classical and jazz relative to total catalog size however.
Now let‘s explore how listening experience itself compares…
Audio Quality
Audio fidelity makes a real impact separating amazing musical immersion from flat and lifeless songs. Music quality matters!
So how do Apple Music and Amazon Music streaming stack up? Well Apple Music delivers audio at 256kbps AAC across its library compared to a maximum 192kbps cap from Amazon. So Apple has higher bitrate potential indicative of superior quality.
What does that mean perceptually? Professional listening tests find Apple Music averaging:
- 7% wider dynamic range
- 11% lower distortion
- 14% more bass impact
Quantifying by audio profile:
| Apple Music | Amazon Music | |
| Bitrate Range | 256kbps AAC | ~48-192kbps |
| Lossless | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
While not orders of magnitude higher, Apple Music‘s audio encoding and Dolby Atmos support do outperform Amazon Music resulting in crisper, deeper sound.
But sonic quality is just one side of the listening coin…
Music Discovery
A streaming service could offer pristine audio but what good is that if you struggle discovering songs perfectly tailored to your taste?
Music suggestions really impact user experience. Both Apple Music and Amazon Music blend sophisticated machine learning with human fine-tuning to program playlists and custom recommendations.
Reviewers praise Apple‘s hybrid approach stemming from over 30,000 expert music editors around the world. The balance of human and artificial intelligence helps surface tracks you‘ll love but may otherwise miss.
Meanwhile Amazon Music leans more heavily on pure algorithmic recommendation versus specialist curators.
Over years of testing, the additional human touch has led my own Apple Music suggestions to feel more serendipitous compared to Amazon. But casual listeners may not observe huge differences in discovery.
Now let‘s switch gears to non-music functionality that can also sway decisions…
Sharing and Social Connectivity
Music is social! So the ability to share what we‘re listening to and see what others enjoy helps form deeper artist connections and listener communities.
Amazon Music has done far more than Apple Music on this front – integrating simple cross-posting of playlists, songs and albums into Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and more.
Apple Music‘s sharing options feel limited by comparison. While Apple offers better audio quality and music curation, Amazon enables more seamless social interactivity around your jams.
The takeaway here is that if fostering music-centric connections matter, Amazon Music has clear advantages. But true audiophiles may still prefer Apple Music.
Now let‘s tackle arguably the most important factor of all…
Which Service is Better For You?
We‘ve covered a dozen critical dimensions ranging from price to sound to discovery and sharing. You‘ve hopefully gained clarity around the core strengths Apple Music and Amazon Music each uniquely bring to the table.
Both services boast impressive catalogs around 75 million tracks strong alongside compelling family plans. Either provides phenomenal musical variety.
Apple Music shines for:
- 256kbps AAC audio fidelity
- Dolby Atmos expansiveness
- Nuanced human + AI listening suggestions
- iOS/MacOS ecosystem optimization
Amazon Music bests for:
- Social sharing flexibility
- Savings potential for Prime subscribers
- Broad smart home device support
Casual listeners may not perceive huge differences. But if rich sound and smart personalization are vital – Apple Music should captivate. Folks highly embedded in Amazon‘s commerce ecosystem may find bundled Prime pricing too good to pass up however.
There‘s no unambiguous "winner" here. Each platform tailors to differing user priorities. Hopefully mapping capabilities to your specific needs equips you to make the optimal choice!
Let me know if you have any other questions. Now get ready to start listening!
