Spotify vs. Tidal: Can a star-studded newcomer upend the current king?

By Joshua Smith Published May 18, 2015

With music streaming services like Spotify abuzz with more than 10 million paid subscribers, new competitors will have to sweeten the pot to lure them away.

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Rapper and business mogul Jay Z is trying his hand at exactly that with the recent purchase of the music streaming service Tidal, Spotify’s latest competition. But will the likes of big-name celebrities and hi-fi streaming be enough to surpass Spotify?

In this episode of VS., we pit Tidal against the “veteran” Spotify to see which streaming service makes the most sense. Take an in-depth look as we compare features, functions, and the prices between both services.

There are millions of songs at hand, but only one service can reign as victor. Check out the video to see who comes out on top.

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Like almost every industry right now, the music industry is struggling because of the coronavirus outbreak (officially known as COVID-19). Since many concerts and music festivals have been canceled, Spotify has announced new efforts to aid musicians in need.

Musicians will soon have the option to fundraise directly from their Spotify artist profile pages so that their dedicated fans can donate to them or a particular cause based on their request. All donations will go directly to the artist or the artist's organization of choice, and Spotify will not take any cut. We reached out to Spotify to find out when this direct donation feature will be available and will update this story when we hear back.

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The generator (spotify.com/pets) lets you select what kind of pet you have — everything from a cat or a dog to an iguana, a bird, and a hamster. Once you pick your pet, you’ll have to answer a few questions, like whether your cat is more energetic or relaxed, or more shy or friendly.

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What is spatial audio? The 3D sound experience fully explained

Person listening to spatial audio using Apple AirPods Max headphones.

Since Apple added “spatial audio” to the Apple Music streaming service and the AirPods family of wireless earbuds and headphones in 2021, it feels like you can’t read about new audio products or services without running into that term. And just a few short years later, it’s seemingly everywhere.

This has led to a lot of misconceptions about what spatial audio is, how it works, and why you need to hear it for yourself. People often ask, “If Apple created spatial audio, why are other companies claiming they do it, too?” The answer is that Apple didn’t create it, and you certainly don’t need to own its products to experience spatial audio.