Is Apple Music Really Better?

Was I wrong? Is Apple Music really better?

I bought Apple Music to find out. There IS a difference. But it's not as simple as "AM is better and Spotify is worse". Can Spotify come out on top? Keep reading!

The first song we're using for comparison is Angel of Death by Slayer. I noticed an immediate difference between Apple Music and Spotify. YT Music had the same version as Spotify.

A few days ago, I showcased different masters of this album. I showed you the original CD master, the 2013 remaster, and the 2024 remaster. Check them out:

I ripped it directly from Apple Music and Spotify myself. Let's take a look at their waveforms.

It turns out, Apple Music is actually using the latest 2024 remaster. Spotify has the 2013 remaster. Like I said in that tweet, the 2024 remaster does sound better than 2013. I think most people would agree with this, but this is still subjective. There might be people who prefer the 2013 remaster. (If you do, shame on you, though. LOL.)

Does this mean Apple Music is better? Not quite.

Let's switch songs. Black Skinhead by Kanye. I delimited Yeezus for myself a couple of days back. I mentioned that I used the iTunes master specifically. I shouldn't have.

Yeezus has a unique master for iTunes. This master is a "Mastered for iTunes" or "Apple Digital Master". From the waveforms, it's clear that the Spotify version has way more clipping than Apple Music. Even after gain-matching, Apple Music's waveform looked better. There was slightly more dynamic range.

But Apple Music sounds horrible. There's distortion everywhere. It was a mess. Even though Spotify has way more clipping, it still sounds several times better. It's not even close. At least with Angel of Death, it only sounded different and was still subjective. This was objectively worse.

I could go on and on with this. There are better masters on Apple Music sometimes, and on Spotify sometimes. It depends on the album. Of course, this isn't always the case. Majority of albums have only one master. But for albums where there are multiple masters, it's subjective.

Here's where things get tricky.

I noticed that Spotify offers more masters than Apple Music. Take Pink Floyd. Some of their albums have 50+ masters. Apple Music offers only the latest. For those in the know, you'll get the difference.

Take The Beatles. You know how messy the remaster situation is. If you didn't know, it's messy. Abbey Road's 2019 mix doesn't have the original's magic. It sounds like a 2019 rock album. Spotify offers more masters. Spotify makes it clear which master you're listening to. Apple Music offers fewer options, the different masters are harder to find, and they don't make it clear which one is which. It's very ambiguous.

So in conclusion, which one is better? Spotify or Apple Music?

I'd still say Spotify. There are some albums that sound better on Apple Music, yes. But overall, I would still say Spotify, because of the reasons I mentioned in the previous paragraph. They have fewer masters, and they don't make it clear.

If you're really serious about all this, you shouldn't be using any DSP. None of them have the original, "best" master for a lot of albums that audiophiles usually love. Start the wild goose chase, find all the different masters and CD rips and compare them.

TLDR: Stick to Spotify. If you're serious about music, don't use DSPs at all. Find the original masters.