The music industry has had its remarkable place for a long time. From the time of kings and queens, music has touched everybody’s life in some way.
Now people like to make a collection of their favorite songs, and several media do that already. Spotify and iTunes are two such mediums that stream online podcasts and music.
Key Takeaways
- Spotify operates primarily as a music streaming service with a vast library of songs and podcasts. At the same time, iTunes is a media player and store for purchasing and managing music, movies, and TV shows.
- Spotify offers free and premium subscription models, allowing users to access music without owning it, while iTunes requires users to buy or rent individual tracks and albums.
- iTunes is exclusively available on Apple devices, while Spotify is accessible on various platforms, including iOS, Android, and desktop computers.
Spotify vs iTunes
The difference between Spotify and iTunes is that Spotify can be put to use by Android phone users. iTunes is a service imparted by Apple Inc. IPhone users use that. The terms Spotify and iTunes are widely used to circulate music and audio podcasts. A user can use both for free or pay for their services.
Spotify is a company based in Sweden that is known to stream audio media. It provides media services in audio form. Spotify is very trendy nowadays.
It allows users to enjoy different types of songs and media together by providing group sessions. A person can listen to millions of songs and podcasts online on Spotify.
iTunes comes in the category of media player. According to its services, it also comes in the types of the media library, Internet radio broadcaster, mobile device management utility, etc.
The platform iTunes for listening to music and other audio media is developed by a renowned company Apple. The language used to make iTunes software or application is C++.
Comparison Table
| Parameters Of Comparison | Spotify | iTunes |
|---|---|---|
| Released | Spotify was introduced to the people on 7 October 2008. | iTunes was introduced to the people for the first time on 9 January 2001. |
| Developer | Apple developed iTunes, and the person known to be the founder of iTunes is Steve Jobs. | Spotify is an independent platform that millions of users use for its online music streaming. |
| Division | iTunes is a software application developed by Apple for specific operating systems and iPhone users to sync with air pods. | Spotify offers music in high quality of 320 kbps to its users, but a user had to pay for it. |
| Quality | iTunes offers a blended quality of music that is up to 256 kbps; it is quite less than Spotify. | Spotify delivers ad-free services of music only to premium members, not to free users. |
| Type of service | Spotify delivers ad-free services of music only to premium members, not to the free users. | Spotify delivers ad-free services for users that haven’t spent a single penny. |
What is Spotify?
Spotify is a renowned company for its audio streaming of several media types. Lorentzon and Denial Ek are the people who founded Spotify in 2006.
Spotify also has a parent organization widely known as Spotify Technology S.A. Spotify is one of the largest companies in the world that provides audio and music services worldwide.
In 2020, the number of employees in Spotify was almost 6.5 thousand.
There are many subsidiaries run by Spotify that including Spotify Ltd (United Kingdom), Spotify USA Inc., Spotify AB, and many other regional subsidiaries depending on the regulations of the related country.
A person can enjoy the services offered by Spotify for free. However, Spotify gives advanced features for its premium users that are unavailable for users who do not buy a premium membership.
The number of free users exceeds those who have paid for Spotify’s additional services. Over 70 million songs are available, and almost every artist is registered on Spotify.
Its free users can enjoy its services by listening to ads streamed between the songs. On the other hand, premium users can have additional controls and commercial-free listening.
Spotify imparts digital copyright for recorded music and other audio services.
What is iTunes?
Apple Inc. Offers its consumers an online audio streaming software application known as iTunes. It was released in 2001. iTunes can be operated on Windows XP, macOS, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Windows, etc.
iTunes has a separate digital store iTunes Store dedicated to the related services.
It was launched as a mere media player; facilitating users to sync their digital music collection to the iPods. Macintosh OS was the platform on which it was capable of being operated. Apple developed and released iTunes for Windows in 2003.
Apple Music, Apple T.V…, are the terms known to be the successor of iTunes.
It helps the users sync, upload, and organize the digital music collection. With the passing of time, iTunes expanded its area and began to provide or sell audiobooks, videos, games, and even T.V… shows.
It became the iTunes Store from a software application developed for music only.
iTunes can help its users to change the file format, edit information on several files, organize playlists, etc. A person can also purchase certain music from iTunes and turn it into graphic form with its help.
iTunes also features iTunes D.J… where it selects songs with 5-star ratings.
Main Differences Between Spotify and iTunes
- Spotify has a better engagement with social media, while iTunes is limited to certain operating systems and iPhones.
- Spotify is a Swedish company that works separately. On the other hand, iTunes is Apple’s software and application that provides similar services.
- The bitrate at which Spotify streams its songs and podcasts is 320 kbps, while iTunes streams music at 256 kbps.
- Commercial-free listening is only available for premium members on Spotify, while iTunes facilitates commercial-free listening to free users.
- Spotify has a huge amount of involvement in social media, while iTunes is not available on certain platforms and has less engagement socially.
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6566767/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167624510000260
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
I appreciate the comprehensive analysis of the key differences between Spotify and iTunes. This provides valuable insights for consumers looking to choose the right music streaming service.
I think it is fascinating to see how technology is advancing and impacting the music industry. The global reach of Spotify and iTunes is quite impressive.
Based on this comparison, it is evident that Spotify and iTunes offer different models and experiences to users. It’s clear that both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses.
The in-depth examination of Spotify and iTunes showcases the evolution of music consumption and digital copyright over the years. This article effectively captures the essence of these technological advancements.
This is a very interesting topic. Here we see a very detailed comparison between two of the most popular music streaming platforms, such as Spotify and iTunes.
It’s intriguing to observe the competition and innovation within the music industry through platforms like Spotify and iTunes. The comparison table presents a clear overview of the distinct features offered by each service.