Move over iTunes new apps taking over

The act of listening to music has been an unconditional tradition for hundreds of years. We have moved from records to tapes and now to the world of smartphones. iTunes has always dominated the music market, offering every song you could ever think of for a low price of $1.29. But recently music apps have been drowning out the once loud and proud iTunes.

Apps such as Spotify, Pandora, and Soundcloud now are stepping up to the plate. These apps are different from iTunes because they offer the same variety of music for absolutely free. But one fallback is what holds them back from just buying the songs on iTunes, the dreadful ads that interrupt blasting  favorite tunes in the car or at home.

“The ads are what has always held me back considering that an ad pops up almost every 30 seconds. It is not just about waiting the 30 seconds, it is about how it becomes annoying to be forced to listen to something irrelevant that has nothing to do with the music,” junior Jake Peterson said.

Unfortunately, the only way to trash the ads is to upgrade to the premium version of the app. For example the upgrading fee for Spotify is $9.99 a month, where as Pandora is $4.99 a month. The option as to which app to use in the end causes people to jump from app to app to find just the song they are looking for.

“Back when I decided to switch I really was not a fan of how iTunes music was set up. I decided to try Pandora for awhile and I enjoyed that. Then I switched to Spotify because I thought it was much easier to use than iTunes,” Peterson said.

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I use Spotify and Soundcloud the most because spotify gives you a lot of music at any time you want it and soundcloud is a good place to find new and emerging artists.

— Emmery Hartwig

Although the base price may be free for apps such as Spotify or Pandora, there is a lack in the amount of songs comparing to Apple Music. Pandora only gives its users a very small amount of music to cycle through, offering a rough 1.5 million songs. This is a grain of rice compared to Apple Music’s roughly 43 million tracks to listen to.

“Whenever I listen to Pandora I always seem to run into the same songs no matter which artist station I am listening to. This causes me to have to switch the artist station constantly to not get the repeating effect,” junior Emmery Hartwig comments.

This low count of songs does not just come at a repeating hassle, but as a connection hassle as well. Songs from iTunes, once purchased, are available anytime anywhere. But other music apps are restricted to the wifi connection or cellular connection a phone is offered at the moment.

“I think the benefit of staying with iTunes is that when I buy the music it is mine permanently. Also you do not have to use data and in our school our music takes forever to load in some hallways using other music apps,” sophomore Katie Tanski said.

The one alternative that some users are switching to is an app known as SoundCloud. SoundCloud is different in the sense that they do not just offer music to listeners, but also the opportunity to put their own music out there. With just the simple step of creating a free account, users can now produce or find the unknown artists that may one day make it big.

“I use Spotify and Soundcloud the most because spotify gives you a lot of music at any time you want it and soundcloud is a good place to find new and emerging artists,” Hartwig said.

Music has always been a way to express who you are as a person. Whether listening to music from a record player or a smartphone, it will be offered to everyone at every corner in every way or form possible.

“Without music I would be lost, so I could not be more blessed that there are so many opportunities that I can grab onto and hold tight and jam loud,” Commented Tanski.