It seems like every company offers a subscription service these days, from streaming television to podcasts to music.
With so many subscriptions available to purchase, it can be hard to narrow down which subscriptions are actually worth it.
After all, people are spending more now on unused subscription services than ever before.
There are several music streaming services available, but here are ten reasons why Spotify Premium is one of the monthly services worth getting and worth keeping.
Is Spotify Premium Worth It? (10 Reasons It Is)
1. Unlimited Access To Songs On Cellphones
When using the free Spotify service on a cellphone, users only have the option to use shuffle-mode, unless playing specific Spotify-created playlists.
Spotify Premium users, on the other hand, can play any song they want at any time.
This means premium users can listen to what they want without having to listen to random songs in between.
Those using the free service have more control of their play when using computers or laptops as opposed to when using a cellphone.
Yet, not having to rely on shuffle mode and having the freedom to play what you want on a phone is a giant bonus of Spotify’s Premium service.
When you pay for Premium, you can choose to skip around and put songs on repeat.
Plus, there’s no limit on number of skips or how many times you can listen to a song.
Non-paying users only have the option to skip up to six songs an hour.
Then, you’re stuck listening to what Spotify’s algorithm wants you to hear.
Premium gives you full control over what you hear at all times.
Of course, you can still choose shuffle mode if you wish to be introduced to new music.
Having this kind of accessibility also helps free up space on your computer that would otherwise be taken up with your collection of song files.
Depending on how much music you typically listen to, this can be tens to hundreds of gigabytes of free space on your phone or computer.
One of the biggest draws to Spotify Premium is not having to listen to ads.
When using the free service, you will typically hear an ad after every two to four songs.
This can be especially disruptive when listening to calming music or the meditations that Spotify offers.
When playing music to help you sleep or relax, ads can be incredibly disruptive.
2. You Can Download And Listen To Music Offline
With Spotify Premium, subscribers can download up to 10,000 songs and store them in their library for offline listening.
This means that when you don’t have Internet access, such as while flying in an airplane or driving through remote parts of the country, you’ll always have access to your music library.
By pre-downloading your favorite selections, you can ensure you’ll never have gaps in your music playback due to lack of Wi-Fi service.
With Spotify’s free service, you cannot listen to anything while in airplane mode, as you must be online.
This is also a great way to cut down on data usage for those with limited data.
By downloading songs while in areas with Wi-Fi, you’ll avoid the data usage that streaming requires.
Just click on the green down arrow (the download button) to download individual songs or albums.
You can do this on up to five devices using the same Premium account, so your phone, laptop, tablet, or other devices can have synched-up access.
Something to keep in mind is that Spotify will remove your downloads if you haven’t played them in 30 days.
This allows you to maintain more storage space.
You also can’t download your entire library at once and must download each playlist or podcast one by one.
This can be helpful, though, because it gives you a chance to review what you have and what you want to keep downloaded.
In addition to saving on data usage, downloading songs or podcasts in advance will also preserve your phone’s battery life.
3. It’s Affordable With Multiple Packages To Choose From
Though most music streaming services remain steady at $9.99 a month, Spotify has the advantage of offering a long-term free service.
Many of their competitors only offer a free short-term trial before they start to charge you.
Offering a free long-term service gives potential Premium users the chance to explore Spotify for a while before deciding on what they want.
Spotify Premium also offers great deals regularly, like one to three free months of Premium for new users.
The first tier of Spotify Premium is for individual use and comes with ad-free listening, offline play, and on-demand playback.
The Duo Premium package offers two accounts for $12.99 and is great for couples, roommates, or any two people who live under one roof.
The duo package offers all the benefits of the individual package, like ad-free music listening, the ability to play music when offline, and on-demand playback.
The Family plan comes with six accounts for only $15.99 a month.
It offers six different accounts for those living under one roof.
Besides the basic perks of ad-free music listening, offline play, and on-demand playback, it also gives parents or guardians the ability to block explicit music.
The Family plan also comes with Spotify Kids, which is a separate app made just for kids, and a Family Mix playlist.
Lastly, Premium offers a Student plan for those currently studying at accredited higher education institutions.
Students need to provide proof of enrollment.
Like the other plans, it comes with ad-free music listening, the ability to play music anywhere (including offline), and on-demand playback for only $4.99 a month for up to four years.
It also comes with bonuses like a Hulu (ad-supported) plan and Showtime, depending on the current offers.
4. Wide Selection Of Available Music
Spotify has one of the largest collections of music to listen to in comparison to many of its competitors.
It offers over 80 million songs and more than four million podcast titles.
It also reportedly adds 60,000 new songs a day.
According to Digital Trends, the streaming service “brings all the latest releases, exclusive live sessions, and various new singles right to its New Releases tab each Friday, as well as the Release Radar playlist.”
The Release Radar playlist keeps you updated on the newest releases from all your favorite artists, so you’ll never miss anything.
The Discover Weekly playlist is another bonus that takes your most played songs and artists and suggests new artists and songs that Spotify thinks you might like.
This is a great way to discover new bands and new music in genres you enjoy.
In addition to its wide selection of music, Spotify Premium also offers access to a large number of podcasts and audiobooks.
5. Better Audio Quality
Spotify Premium boosts the quality of your audio when you pay for the service up to AAC 256kbit/s.
When using the free service, the audio quality stays at AAC 128kbit/s via the web player.
The free Spotify app can play anywhere from 24kbit/s to 160kbit/s depending on your Internet connection.
Players on desktops typically run at 160kbit/s by default, but Premium allows music to play at 320kbit/s.
This is supposedly the best quality that most human ears can hear.
Make Use Of says, “For mobile, Low quality is 24kbps, Normal quality is 96kbps, High quality is 160kbps, and Extreme quality is 320kbps. Free users can select Normal or High, but only Premium lets you select Extreme on mobile.”
You can also adjust your streaming audio settings and save them for playing offline if needed.
Spotify has also mentioned an upcoming added tier to their Premium packages called Spotify HiFi with “lossless CD quality.”
6. Use Of Spotify Connect
One of the best features of Spotify Premium is having the ability to connect all of your devices, so if you start playing a song on your phone and then sit at your computer, you’re able to switch the playing device.
This is useful when moving around the house, as all your devices can be used to control your Spotify account, providing seamless transitions between music playing.
There’s no need to keep running back and forth between rooms to control the music.
This feature also allows you to use one device to remotely control listening on another, such as using your smartphone to control the music playing from your laptop.
You can also pair Spotify with other hardware devices, like external speakers or your PS4.
To do this, all devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network.
Also, make sure your Spotify app is up to date as well as the other devices’ software.
Another cool feature that you can set up for your Spotify Premium account is the use of Siri to control your music play.
First, download the Shortcuts App from the app store.
Then move to your browser and search for “Spotify Shortcut Setup.”
Press “Get Shortcut” and click open.
It’ll redirect you back to the Shortcuts app where you’ll tap “Get Shortcut” again.
At the top center of the page, press the play button and then hit “Run Shortcut” when the option pops up.
Hit “Ok” on the next page and click on “Play Spotify.”
Log in like normal and follow the directions that come up.
It may sound complicated, but it’s worth having the flexibility and ease that comes from telling Siri what you want to hear.
7. You Can Test Listen To Albums Before Purchase
Unlike the days of having to purchase full albums before hearing the songs, today you can listen to songs and full albums before deciding whether to buy them.
This can end up saving hardcore music collectors a lot of money in the long run.
Though some music stores still buy back used CDs and vinyl, it’s becoming increasingly rarer.
Testing music first allows you to carefully choose your hard copy music selection.
With vinyl becoming popular again, this is great news for collectors.
It’s nice to have the vinyl for many reasons, but having to buy a whole album to hear one good song can end up being a waste of money.
After all, one good song on an album doesn’t make the album a great album.
Sometimes it’s beneficial to be able to just listen to one select song off an album you don’t fully enjoy.
By carefully curating your collection, you can still listen to all the music you enjoy without having to invest huge sums of money.
It’s worth the cost of a monthly subscription to narrow down how you choose to spend your extra cash.
Plus, this will limit the amount of space your hard copy music collection takes up in your home.
Save your precious living space for the albums you truly want.
8. You Can Share Music With Friends
Spotify’s free service cuts off access to a lot of its sharing and social benefits when using the app on your phone.
Although you can still create and share playlists using Spotify’s free service, it comes with its limitations.
Sharing music and playlists is one of Spotify’s best interactive features, as it helps connect friends and build music communities.
To do this, after creating a playlist, you can choose to make it public, share the playlist’s URL, or make the playlist collaborative.
Making the playlist public allows anyone to find it using Spotify’s search function.
Sharing the URL only gives those with the link access and making it collaborative gives those with the link access to add songs or choose what’s playing.
This is a great interactive feature that lets family and friends create and play select songs back and forth in the moment.
You can also share a playlist from your phone using Snapchat, text messages, WhatsApp, Instagram Stories, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, Copy Link, and “More,” which offers options like email and AirDrop.
If sharing from your computer, you have the option to share via Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Telegram, Skype, or Tumblr, and you can also Copy Playlist Link, Copy Embed Code, and Copy Spotify URL.
Spotify Premium also gives subscribers the feature of Group Sessions, which allows you to host live listening parties with up to five friends who have Premium accounts, no matter where they are in the world.
You can also throw podcast listening parties using this same feature.
During Group Sessions, anyone in the party can choose a song, pause, skip, or add to the queue.
Spotify makes it easy to sign in by connecting with other social media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, and Discord.
This means you don’t need your own separate login information to sign into Spotify each time.
You can easily access your account by signing in through Facebook or Instagram.
The connection with social media also gives you an option to share what you’re listening to with your friends and family.
9. Albums Can Be Played In Full
Since Spotify’s default mode for non-paying customers is shuffle when using the Spotify app on a cellphone, it’s impossible to listen to a whole album from start to finish.
It’s also impossible to rewind or repeat songs on the album unless you’re playing it on a computer or tablet.
Therefore, when albums are clicked on to play, the album will be spliced with other music instead of being played straight through.
However, Premium members can play albums straight through without having the album interrupted by other songs.
It also doesn’t matter what device you’re playing on when using Premium.
Plus, the album won’t be interrupted by pesky ads that abruptly cut into the flow of the music.
10. Ability To Play When In Other Countries
When using Spotify Premium, you can play unlimited music or podcasts when overseas or during international travel.
This is in sharp contrast to the limited 14 days of play for free Spotify users.
If you already have Premium, there’s no need to change anything with your account to still access everything on it.
However, if you do want to change your country or region on your account, you need to update your payment method with a card that’s based in the country you’re located.
Just go into your account and click on “Update Under Your Plan.”
From there, input your new credit card information or payment method.
The changes will show up on your next billing cycle.
If you don’t have Premium and still want to keep listening after 14 days while in another country, you’ll need to change your location under your profile.
You must be in the country at the time for it to show up.
Using Spotify Premium takes away this hassle, making your listening seamless without having to change or update anything.
Conclusion
With an abundance of perks, paying for a monthly subscription to Spotify Premium is definitely worth it.
The mere fact that you have unlimited access to a giant library without having to listen to ads should be enough to make anyone want to join.
The collaborative features make sharing music with your friends and hearing new music so easy.
The era of mixtapes may be over but Spotify has made the new era of music listening quite appealing.
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