Cancelling Spotify? Here are four other music streaming services to try

A number of international artists are boycotting the music platform for its stance on Joe Rogan, who's been accused of peddling Covid-19 conspiracies

According to Midia Research, Spotify has 31 per cent market share of the music streaming segment as of 2021. AFP

As the number of artists boycotting Spotify continues to grow following the Joe Rogan controversy, the Swedish streaming giant's competitors have jumped in to take advantage of the situation.

With a reported 31 per cent market share as of 2021, according to Midia Research, Spotify is still the most popular music streaming service in the world. It's closest competitor, Apple Music, accounts for 15 per cent of the music subscription pie.

But on Wednesday, shares of Spotify tumbled with the streaming service projecting a slow down of subscriber growth. The company predicts its first quarter 2022 gross profit margin would fall to 25 per cent from 26.5 per cent.

Chief executive Daniel Ek said it’s too soon to know whether the artists' boycott is impacting its business.

“Usually when we have controversies in the past, they are measured in months not days,” Ek told Bloomberg. “But I feel good about where we are.”

Last week, following the removal of Neil Young's music from Spotify and as the hashtag #DeleteSpotify trended on Twitter, Apple Music posted a tweet, calling itself "the home of Neil Young".

Young's albums and playlists were heavily promoted on the platform, including a banner titled "We Love Neil".

If you're looking for an alternative to Spotify, thankfully there are many other options. Here are four others to try:

Apple Music

Apple Music is trying to cash in and attract subscribers as rival Spotify gets embroiled in controversies. Bloomberg

Launched in 2015, the music and video streaming service from Apple has evolved plenty since it was first made available. Now with about 80 million songs in its arsenal, Apple Music's features include videos, curated playlists, radio as well as lossless audio, which provides better music quality.

Spotify said it would launch the lossless feature in 2021 but has not made it available yet.

While Apple Music makes most sense for those who already own Apple devices, the service is also available for Android users.

Cost: Everyone who signs up to Apple Music gets three months of subscription free. Thereafter, it's Dh19.99 per month or Dh29.99 per month, which will give you unlimited access for up to six people. Students get it for Dh9.99 a month. An Apple One subscription, which bundles Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple Cloud+ with 50GB of storage, is also available for Dh39.95 a month.

Anghami

Anghami co-founders Eddy Maroun, left, and Elie Habib.

A proudly Middle Eastern start-up, Anghami offers more than 57 million songs to its 70 million registered users with around a billion streams per month.

Founded in Lebanon in 2012 by Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib, the company last year moved its headquarters to Abu Dhabi and also became the first technology firm from the region to list on the Nasdaq in New York after its merger with Vistas Media Acquisition Company that was public.

Known for its exclusive collaborations with Arab artists, Anghami launched a Live Radio feature last year, allowing users to host online public and private listening sessions with music chosen from its library.

Cost: Subscribers to Anghami get a 14-day free trial period before their payment cycle begins. Subscribing to Anghami Plus costs $4.99 per month or $44.99 per year. A special Anghami Plus lite subscription is also available, for 0.99$ a month, with ad-free streaming minus a few features.

Deezer

Deezer Mena has launched a string of Arabic podcasts. Photo: Deezer

The French music streaming platform backed by Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding, entered the Middle East market in 2018 with a bang by announcing an exclusive digital distribution deal with the region's biggest record company Rotana Music.

The service now boasts more than 73 million tracks featuring Arab as well as international artists.

Last year, Deezer Middle East launched its first true crime podcast Al Jareema, which examines some of the Arab world's most horrific crimes and the killers behind them.

Cost: A free subscription of Deezer is available, but will come with ads. Deezer Premium subscription is priced at Dh18 per month, with the first month free. Deezer HiFi, featuring lossless audio, is Dh27 per month, with the first month free.

YouTube Music

Nassif Zeytoun performs at YouTube Music launch in Dubai on September 10, 2019. Photo: YouTube

Those subscribed to YouTube Premium get YouTube Music for free but the service is also available on its own, for ad-free music streaming, as well as radio and, of course, music videos.

Launched in 2019 in the Middle East with a concert featuring Syrian crooner Nassif Zeytoun and Iraqi star Rahma Riad, YouTube Music last year debuted localised music charts in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, listing the top artists and songs in a collection updated on a weekly basis.

Designed to offer the Arabic music industry a more streamlined and transparent approach to measuring the popularity of releases, YouTube Charts was hailed as "a great platform" for emerging regional artists by Moe Hamzeh, managing director of Warner Music Middle East.

Cost: YouTube Music costs Dh19.99 per month, with the first month free. A subscription to YouTube Premium is for Dh23.99 per month, with one month free, and also gives you unlimited access to YouTube Music.