PUBLISHED October 27th, 2014 04:00 pm | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 02:07 pm
The days of cassettes and CDs might be over – though we still have a soft spot for vinyl – since we’re well into the digital age where listening to music on our beloved gadgets is the new norm. But if you’re not quite sold on the idea of taking your music discovery experience online, read on for the rundown on our favourite music streaming services that might just get you hooked.
Last.fm
Founded in 2002, Last.fm stands strong as one of the old dogs in the industry. They pride themselves on their user profiling capabilities, thus Last.fm is widely known as a music discovery service that provides personalized recommendations based on your music library and streaming history. Their events section, which provides one of the most comprehensive listings of gigs on our island, is also a plus point for us.
Spotify
Boasting a massive global outreach of 40 million users and 10 million subscribers, this Swedish company is quite possibly the most popular music streaming service in the world right now. Choose to go ad-free with unlimited free downloads of any song for an affordable $9.90 a month, or stick to the free scheme, which still comes with access to numerous artist profiles, mood playlists, and awesome apps like Lazify, Pitchfork, Hype Machine, and Bandsintown.
8tracks
It’s all about the human touch at 8tracks. Forget music recommendations from an algorithm, the folks at 8tracks have formed a network of passionate audiophiles who curate mix tapes of 8 tracks or more for free sharing. Each playlist is categorized by mood, genre, or activity, which makes for easy searching. So if you’re looking for that perfect playlist for a party, a road trip, or even for some me-time, 8tracks will have you sorted out in no time.
Deezer
This French web-based music streaming service has been going places after entering the Asian market a few years back. Deezer has been building their brand awareness in the region by (cleverly) partnering up with regional music festivals and established companies like M1, Jetstar, and Bose so that you can literally enjoy your favourite music anytime, anywhere. Their team of editors also has high standards in music (but we agree this is subjective), and makes amazing recommendations on a regular basis.
Guvera
The latest music streaming service to hit Singapore is none other than Australia-based Guvera, which made sure to enter with a bang by picking local talents, Michaela Therese and Seyra as their official ambassadors. A great way to explore their sea of music is their ‘#play’ function, which allows you to find playlists based on mood hashtags. And we like that they do put in the effort in featuring local musicians!
Rdio
Better known as Laneway Festival Singapore 2015’s newest music streaming partner, Rdio is slowly but surely breaking into the market. The website interface wins brownie points for its simple, sleek design and user-friendliness. You can easily access key functionalities like trending hits, new releases, and their tailored song and artist recommendations with just a click on the sidebar.
Indie Shuffle
With a funky slogan like ‘we believe humans are better than robots at discovering new music’, the organizational mantra at Indie Shuffle is clear. Their diverse team of music fanatics scours through tunes on the (extremely rad) music distribution platform Soundcloud on a daily basis so we don’t have to. The result? An incredible feed of hand-curated independent music, which covers genres like indie rock, electronic, hip-hop, folk, and everything in between. Simply kick back, click play, and let them do the shuffling.
Top Image: Rdio