Spotify is currently testing a new exciting feature called Storyline that gives users behind the scenes and exclusive content from their favourite artists and their music. The content is presented just like an Instagram story and boasts a similar functionally to Behind the Lyrics slides. However, unlike Behind the Lyrics, which is provided by the third-party company Genius, Storylines comes directly from the musicians themselves. This new feature is currently being tested on both IOS and Android, and those who use Spotify in the United States and Holland have been able to access it. However, Storylines isn’t available to all Spotify users yet and not all artists are able to access it. This is a particularly interesting move as Spotify is already integrated with one the most popular social media tools on the internet; Instagram Stories.
This particularly interesting move would give the streaming giant a form of original material that goes far beyond an album exclusive every now and then. It could also make the app more popular amongst a generation that has grown up surrounded by stories features on many of their social media channels. Additionally, this could also mean that Spotify stays ahead of Apple Music, where their exclusive content is based on the occasional Beats interview.
Spotify Vs Apple Music
There’s no denying that Spotify are the undisputed masters of music streaming. The Swedish company has helped shape the entire music streaming landscape and boast tens of millions more paying subscribers than their primary competition. However, Apple Music is well known for high-level releases and fully integrates into Apple’s IOS ecosystem. Apple Music has also seen impressive listenership growth since it went live in 2015 and now has over 40 million monthly subscribers. In fact, despite Spotify being the dominant streaming platform, Apple Music is the most popular paid music streaming platform in the United States.
There is another big area where Apple Music have the one up on Spotify, and that’s their integration with the iTunes library. Any music that their users that have previously bought, uploaded or ripped from a CD will appear in their music library. This gives them the option to browse their music alongside Apple’s catalogue of music. Spotify does offer a function that is similar, but you can’t access your music via a broad search like you can with Apple Music.
Social Media Integration
However, one of the biggest wins comes from Spotify that that’s their integration with the various social media platforms. It allows users to share links to songs and their listening habits with their friends. And, also post what they’re listening to on Instagram stories where they can include lots of different stickers and hashtags. Apple Music does have an option to add friends next to albums that they are listening to, but Spotify is well ahead of the game.
Navigation and User Interface
Apple Music boasts a slick white finish on mobile devices, while Spotify goes for a black look across its different mobile apps and desktop version. Both streaming platforms are really easy to navigate on mobile with each app’s main tabs found at the bottom of each interface. Depending on the song, Spotify has some really cool animations and videos that play full screen when you listen to them. Both streaming platforms also let you look at a song’s lyrics on the screen if they are available. However, only Apple Music lets you search for music using the lyrics in the query.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, both of the music streaming giants have their pro and cons of use. And, it is typically just down to a user preference whether they use one or the other. However, with Spotify testing their new Storyline feature, could this give the Swedish company a significant competitive advantage against Apple Music? If users like the idea of exclusive and personalised music, then we think it could. Who wouldn’t want to feel closer to their favourite artists after all?
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