Spotify Premium, the music streaming service Spotify's paid tier, has been around for years, and we recently got a chance to look at it. Spotify Premium's main features include the ability to remove all ads, an offline mode, and on-demand listening (Spotify Free only allows for shuffle play). The removal of ads is a great start. No one enjoys listening to 30-second ads, especially unskippable ones like the ads on Spotify. There would be no point for a paid tier with ads. Also, several reports state that artists are better compensated with Spotify Premium's $9.99 a month price over fees for advertisements. In fact, one of the main reasons Taylor Swift left the service is because Spotify refused to make her music a Premium exclusive. The offline mode is most helpful for those with no SIM card in their phone or relatively crappy cellular service. This also comes in handy aboard plane rides or long road trips. Unfortunately, one major drawback with this is that music is saved by playlist, not individual songs. Luckily, Spotify allows for one song to be in a playlist to remedy the problem. The on-demand listening, as well as getting rid of shuffle play, also removes song recommendations that appear periodically. However, there is no way to turn the recommendations back on in Premium. A final feature Spotify boasts is high-quality audio up to 320 kbit/s that is great for audiophiles. Keep in mind that high-quality speakers or headphones might be needed to take advantage of this. In short, with the impressive features above, is Spotify Premium actually worth your money? For about 99 dollars a year, it's actually great value for it's price. The value gets even better with a family membership, which slashes the price of the second account in half. Unless you like Taylor Swift. Try out Apple Music instead. For Mirror Journal, this was Roan Thibault.
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June 2017
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