by The Consumer Council compared the seven mainstream music streaming platforms on the market and found that more than half of them will automatically renew after the free trial. These include Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, YouTube Music.
During the period from August to September this year, the Consumer Council subscribed to seven music streaming platform charging plans as a general consumer. They are Apple Music, JOOX, KKBOX, MOOV, Spotify, TIDAL, YouTube Music. The standard charges for the most basic personal plan on the 7 platforms range from RMB 48 to RMB 58.
In terms of sound quality, many platforms require consumers to pay double the basic monthly fee to listen to “lossless” or “high-resolution” music. Among them, the basic plans of JOOX, MOOV, TIDAL and Apple Music already include lossless or high-resolution sound quality. Some platforms also provide lossless and high-resolution sound quality plans, and the charges range from the lowest MOOV 68 yuan to the highest KKBOX 116 yuan per month.
The amount of song library collections between different platforms is quite different. Apple Music, KKBOX, and TIDAL claim to have more than 90 million songs, while Spotify claims to have more than 80 million songs. JOOX, which has the least song library, has only 40 million songs, which is more than double the gap with the head platform. The MOOV does not provide the number of songs in the library.
The Consumer Council found that if consumers choose the “free trial” service, more than half of the platforms will automatically renew and charge after the trial period. These include Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, YouTube Music. Consumers should read the terms and conditions carefully before using the free service. In addition, the level of customer service between the platforms varies. Some platforms do not provide any customer service contact information at all, and some platforms have not responded to any enquiry emails after a week.
source:Consumer Council
