Epic Guide on How to Download Music Like a Pro
Imagine a world without music ー it’s like a world without life. Music, since time immemorial, has been a big part of people’s lives may it be for entertainment or cultural practices. Today, the way we listen to music has undergone a complete transformation. From record stores, we can now conveniently access music online through various music streaming services. But not all the time we can go online to stream music. That’s why learning how to download music is a must if you want to keep your life upbeat.
Knowing you can access your favorite playlist wherever you are is a different kind of bliss. But, there’s no more annoying thing than an audio stream that keeps on buffering. In this guide, we’ll show you how to download music from different music streaming platforms at ease. So the next time you go offline, you’ll never have to worry about your life going dull.
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Directory:
Directory
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- What are the Top Music Streaming Platforms?
- Step-by-step Guide to Download Music
- How to Download Podcasts?
- How Much Data is Used to Download Music and Podcasts?
- Why is My Download Speed so Slow?
- How to Download Music for Free?
- Is Downloading Music for Free Illegal or Legal?
- What are the Tools You Need to Steam and Download Music?
Spotify
Spotify might be the best music streaming service there is. It has a great catalog of different genres, from Pop and EDM to Punk and Indie. Spotify features great podcasts that include shows like TedTalks Daily, Oprah’s Super Soul Conversation, and The Daily by NYT. The upshot? All these for free.
However, free users won’t be able to stream offline or download any music from the app itself. To do these, you must avail of the Spotify Premium service. Getting a paid account will also give you complete control over your listening habits like unlimited skips, high-quality audio, and ad-free streaming.
The data consumption of Spotify depends on the audio quality you’re streaming from. There are three tiers of audio quality for this service right now: Normal = 96kbps, High = 160kbps, and Extreme: 320kbps. The normal mode is the default setting on Spotify which consumes around 0.72 MB per minute. If you’re listening to high-quality audio, you are likely to be consuming 1.2 MB of data in a minute. On the other hand, the extreme quality, which is available for Premium users only, consumes 2.4 MB per minute.
Pandora
In addition to curated music, Pandora also provides online radio service to its users. It has four tiers of service which you can choose from Free Pandora, Pandora Plus, Pandora Premium, and Pandora Premium Family.
Like free Spotify, Free Pandora is an ad-supported service that allows users to create playlists based on artist and genre. However, you wouldn’t be able to choose what tracks to include in your playlist as the app will do it automatically for you. You can provide a review for a track by giving it a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Giving a thumbs down will eliminate a song from your playlist.
Pandora Music’s remaining paid subscriptions allow users to download and play music on their devices, ad-free. But Pandora Plus users won’t be able to choose what tracks to download. Pandora chooses what tracks to download for them based on their most listened to artists or genres. Pandora Premium and Pandora Premium Family, on the other hand, give users full control of what music they want to listen to or download. The only difference is that a Family account allows six unique accounts in a single subscription.
Apple Music
Apple Music doesn’t offer a free account, but you can get a free three-month trial. This music streaming service is known for exclusive releases and is among the most popular paid music services in the US. Aside from audios, it also allows users to watch music videos, tune in to the latest news, and listen to the radio for select regions. With its new lyrics view feature, you can now also sing along to any track you want.
Apple Music streams at a 256kbps bitrate, which consumes roughly 2 MB per minute. By default, Apple Music is set on the highest quality assuming you are connected with Wifi. But when using your mobile data, the audio quality goes down to 64kbps which consumes data per minute.
Amazon Music
Amazon has two tiers of music streaming service: the Prime Music and Music Unlimited. Prime Music is a free service for all Prime users while Music Unlimited is a music streaming service that requires a paid subscription, regardless you have a Prime account or none.
There are over 2 million tracks in Prime Music plus thousands of other playlists and stations. For Music Unlimited, it has over 50 million songs and continuously adds as other tracks released. Both services have an option for an offline playback but download can only be done on the Amazon Music mobile app.
Prime Music streams at a 256 kbps in maximum but it’s also able to stream HD which the band claims to run at 850 kbps bitrate. However, the 3D audio is not available for offline playback. Say you stream to Amazon Music 1 hour a day, you are likely to be consuming 1.8 GB to 4.3 GB of internet bandwidth in a month.
Soundcloud
Soundcloud offers both free and paid music streaming services. Founded in 2007, it is a platform for independent artists to share their music with the world. The free service allows users to listen to select tracks and playlists on mobile phones and computers using Soundcloud supported browsers. But similar to other music streaming sites, Soundcloud doesn’t allow free users to play music offline.
On the other hand, Soundcloud Go+ is the paid version of the service with a 30-day free trial. It is globally available except in Asia. A paid subscription provides users with complete access to 135+ million songs plus the ability of offline playback. It streams in 256kbps AAC for the highest quality with maximum data consumption of 56 MB an hour.
Tidal
Tidal has 2 types of subscription plans: the Tidal Premium and the Tidal HiFi (high-fidelity audio). Tidal Premium matches the audio quality of Spotify, which streams at 96kbps for normal and 320kbps for high quality. On the other hand, Tidal HiFi offers a high-resolution music streaming experience. It relies on lossless compression of audio files (FLAC), giving subscribers CD-quality audio. Given that FLAC files have a bitrate of 1411kbps, you can also expect it to eat up a big byte of your data.
If Tidal Premium consumes 72 MB for an hour of streaming, HiFi can consume 450MB of your bandwidth. That’s 13.5 GB data consumption for 1 hour streaming per day in a month.
Primephonic
Primephonic is an audio streaming platform that focuses on classical music. Similar to Tidal, it also provides FLAC-quality audios alongside the MP3 streaming service. According to its website, it has over 3.5 million classical tracks that users can download for offline listening.
FLAC-quality audios require an internet connection of at least 5 MBps. But if it drops, the audio file will automatically play on standard quality so the music won’t stop playing.
Deezer
Deezer gives pretty much options for users to customize how they play music. Under the free version, users can listen to music in a shuffle mode. On mobile, skips are limited to six per hour while there’s no limit when you’re streaming on desktop. The audio quality is also set at 128kbs by default.
Under the Deezer Premium, users can customize the audio quality based on mobile plan allowances. You can stream in lossless quality if you want to play music as good as live, but you can also opt for the 320kbps audio quality for less data-hungry streaming.
Comparison Chart of Music Streaming and Download Sites
Most of these music streaming sites feature similar characteristics. Though some are better than the others in term of its content library, data consumption, and perks. Here’s a rundown of the best music streaming sites you can get in the market right now.
| Music Streaming Applications | Free Trial Subscriptions | Data Consumption | Songs Library | Next Step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
30 Days Free Trial
|
0.72 MB – 2.4 MB per minute
|
50 Millions Songs
|
||
|
14 Days Free Trial
|
0.25 MB – 1.4 MB per minute
|
2 Million+ Songs
|
||
|
3 Months Free Trial
|
0.67 MB – 2.0 MB per minute
|
60 Million Songs
|
||
|
90 Days Free Trial
|
1.00 MB – 2.4 MB per minute
|
50 Million Songs
|
||
|
Soundcloud
|
30 Days Free Trial
|
0.93 MB per minute
|
125 Million Songs
|
|
|
30 Day Free Trial
|
0.71 MB – 7.5 MB per minute |
50 Million Songs
|
||
|
2 Weeks Free Trial
|
2.4 MB – 10 MB per minute
|
3.5 Million Classical Songs
|
||
|
Deezer
|
7 – 15 days Free Trial
|
0.93 MB – 10 MB per minute
|
56 Million Songs
|
|
Step-by-Step Guide to Download Music
We understand that downloading music on different music streaming sites can be quite a headache. We compiled and simplified everything to make your music downloading process as easy as possible. Whether you’re into downloading music from Spotify, Soundcloud, Pandora, and more, we got you covered.
How to Download Music on Spotify
To download music on Spotify, you must first have a premium subscription to the service. Instead of relying on your mobile data plan, it will also be helpful to connect on a Wifi to speedup the download time. Here’s the complete guide on how to download music on the Spotify app.
Step 1: Go to the playlist or album you want to download, then switch the download button. Once the download button turns green, it means that the playlist/ Album is now being downloaded.
Step 2: Check the arrow button before the tracks on your playlist. If it’s green, it means the song has been successfully downloaded and you can listen offline.
Step 3: Turn off your mobile data or disconnect from Wifi. The tracks should play even without the internet.
Last Step: Go online at least every other 30 days and maintain a premium subscription to keep the tracks downloaded.
NoteYour Spotify downloads will take-up space on your device but you can only access them on the app. You cannot transfer them on your local drive or move them out of the app.
How to Download Music on Pandora
Similar to Spotify, the offline mode of Pandora Music is only available for those who have paid subscriptions. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to download music from Pandora music for offline playback.
Step 1: Go to the Album you wished to download using the Search icon, or by going to ‘My Music’ if you have added it to your favorites. Go to the ‘Menu‘ > click on the ‘My Music‘ > then select ‘Album‘ you want to download.
Step 2: Below the album’s information page click the download icon. It’s an arrow pointing down to a line.
Step 3: Once you go offline, Pandora will automatically transfer you to the offline mode and choose a track you’ll listen to.
noteNot all tracks are available for download. Also, you cannot download any podcasts from Pandora Music.
How to download music on Apple Music
Apple Music also provides an option for offline playback. Here’s a guide on how to download music from Apple Music to your device.
Step 1: To download a song or album for offline playback, you must add it to your library. To do this, open the Music app on your Apple device and search for the track or album you want to download.
Step 2: Tap the + or +ADD button to add the track or album to your library.
Step 3: Tap the cloud icon next to the track or Album to start downloading.
Step 4: To view downloaded tracks, click the Library tab from the music app then select the Downloaded music tab. Your downloads are sorted by Playlists, Albums, Artists, and Songs.
Note: You can also opt to automatically download the music you’ve added to your library. Using your iPhone device, go to Setting > Music > Automatic Downloads. It is important to note, however, that podcasts are not part of the Apple Music service. This means you won’t be able to listen or download podcast episodes using the app.
How to download music from amazon music
Downloading tracks for offline playback is available for both Prime Music and Music Unlimited subscribers using a mobile app. Here’s a guide on how to do it.
Step 1: Open the Amazon Music app on your device and go to the playlist, song, or album you want to download.
Step 2: Tap the vertical three-dot button next to the item you want to save for offline listening. Select Download to proceed.
Step 3: After downloading, go to My Music to view your downloads. You can find the button at the bottom of your screen.
Note: The offline playback for Amazon Music is not available on Desktop, PC, and Mac. Also, downloads using mobile devices are only available on the app. It won’t be possible to export them to your local storage or other devices.
At present, podcasts are not part of Amazon Music. Hence, similar to Apple Music and Pandora Music, you can only download music on Amazon Music app.
How to download music on SoundCloud
Offline playback for Soundcloud works almost the same way as of those other music streaming services. People who have paid subscription have the option to pick the playlist they have created or liked. Here’s how to download music from the Soundcloud app.
Step 1: Launch the app on your mobile phone and go to the library. Go to the Playlist or Liked section to choose the track you want to download.
Step 2: If you want to save an entire playlist, click the arrow next to the heart icon. To save all your Likes, click the arrow next to the shuffle button.
Step 3: Once a small orange arrow appeared on the top right corner of a tracks photo means the song has been successfully saved for offline listening.
Note: Your downloads take up space on your storage. However, you cannot access downloaded tracks on your phone’s local storage. You can only access your downloads on the Soundcloud app and cannot export them on other devices or apps.
How to download music on tidal
Tidal subscribers have the option to save music for offline listening using Android and iOS devices supported by Tidal. Here’s how to download music from the Tidal App.
Step 1: From the Tidal App’s homepage, tap My Collection at the bottom of your screen.
Step 2: Choose between Playlist or Albums tabs to proceed to the tracks you want to save.
Step 3: Next to each track, tap the three-dot button and choose download.
Step 4: Check downloads from the app by going to My Collection>Downloads. The items will play when you are offline without consuming your data.
Note: To play music offline, you should first authorize your device to play downloaded content. Go to ‘My Collection’ > ‘Settings’ > ‘Authorize.’
How to download music on primephonic
Subscribers can also choose to save their favorite playlist or album using the Primephonic app for smartphones and tablets. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Launch the Primephonic app and tap the album or personal playlist you want to download.
Step 2: Once you are in the playlist or album you wish to download, tap the download toggle switch to start saving the tracks.
Step 3: Check the small arrow next to each track. Once it turned blue means the track has already been saved.
Step 4: Disconnect from the internet and tap My Music to view your downloads.
Note: Primephonic’s offline playback is only available for smartphones and tablets. Hence you cannot download music from Primephonic using desktops and PCs.
How to download music on Deezer
Deezer
Downloading your favorite content on Deezer is pretty simple. Follow this guide on how to download music using the Deezer app to access albums, playlists, and podcast episodes even offline.
Step 1: Open the app on your tablet or smartphone, then go to Favorites. This is the heart icon on the bottom of your screen.
Step 2: Go to any album, playlist, or podcast you wish to download. Tap the download toggle between the information page and the list of tracks.
Step 3: The green dot next to each track indicates that you can now listen to it offline.
Note: Downloading tracks will only work when you have an active WiFi connection to save mobile data. You can change this by going to the ‘Favorites’ > ‘Settings’ > ‘Audio Settings‘, then tap the toggle switch to Download via cellular network.
Downloading podcasts episodes from music streaming platforms works almost the same way as to how you download any music including a song, playlist, and album for offline playback. You can access downloaded podcasts on the apps, but you cannot transfer them to your local storage. Here is a guide on how to download podcasts from the best music streaming apps.
Spotify
From the homepage go to Your Library and select Podcasts. Tap the podcast you want and click the small gray arrow next to the episode you want to download. It will turn green once the download is complete. Some podcasts episodes in Spotify are available for download even to free users.
Tidal
Firstly, search for the podcast or show you wish to download. Once you are on the podcast page you want, tap the download switch before the episodes list to begin downloading.
Primephonic
Search for the podcast you want to download or go to My Music if you have added it to your playlist. Tap the download switch on the podcast information page to download each episode.
Deezer
Go to the Podcast you want to download by tapping Favorites. Select the podcasts you want and tap the three-dot button next to each episode to start downloading. Podcast download on Deezer is only available in select countries like Austria, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA.
The data consumption of downloading music and podcasts depends on the quality and length of the file you want to save. Essentially, the size of the file is equal to the data you’d likely be consuming when you download. For example, a 3.5 MB song will also eat up 3.5 MB of data when downloaded.
Data consumption to download Music
When downloading a piece of music from streaming platforms, you have the option to choose the audio quality you like. Audio quality is measured in bitrate which ranges from 64kbps to as high as 1411kbps. To give you an idea, a 64kbps audio can take up to 0.67 MB. This means that an average 3-minute song would eat up 2.01 MB when downloaded on the lowest quality. However, when you download 3-minute FLAC-quality audio, your data consumption could go as high as 30 MB.
Data consumption to download Podcast
The data consumption of downloading podcasts works the same way as downloading a song, only that it will eat up more bytes since it is longer and larger in size. Podcasts usually last for 30 minutes on average. Downloading a 64kbps podcast of that length can consume at least 20 MB data. But if you want better quality, say 320kbps (can consume 2.4 MB per minute), your data consumption can spike up to 72 MB.
Another thing you need to understand is that downloading an audio file consumes the same amount of data when you stream. It’s a common misconception that streaming saves data compared to when you download a file. That’s blatantly wrong. The only difference between the two is that streaming plays a file while downloading leaves a copy of a file on your local drive. That being said, it is better to download a song you listen to over and over than just to stream it. When you access a saved file on your device, you wouldn’t be consuming data anymore. But streaming a file again is essentially re-downloading information that requires and consumes data allowance.
There could only be one reason why your download speed is so slow — the internet connection. That said, optimal internet speed is at least 25 Mbps. With this, you can perform basic online activities such as music streaming and downloading without those annoying stops and loads.
We recommend you to run an online speed test to check your current internet speed. If you are experiencing a slower than usual internet connection, there are few hacks you can try to optimize internet download speed.
First, try to restart your router and your devices. If your download speed isn’t improving or your internet connection isn’t stable, try to contact your internet provider and check your internet bandwidth. Alternatively, you can opt for a Wifi Boosters to increase your internet speed.
Downloading music from mainstream platforms honestly costs some bucks. You pay for the subscription but, still, your access is limited. Plus, most of them won’t allow you to save the files on your local drive or transfer them to other devices. For this reason alone, some people are opting to use third-party applications to download music for free.
There are a bunch of free music downloaders and MP3 converters on the internet today to fulfill the demand. From there, you can use your preferred media players to play any downloaded music. They don’t give many options on the file you want to download in terms of quality or format. But just the fact that you can download music for free makes these platforms a go-to-site of music lovers. Here are some sites and tools you can use to download music for free and without limit.
Orbit Downloader
Orbit Downloader is a download manager that’s the perfect shortcut for you to download almost anything you want on the internet. You can easily download videos to music from Youtube, Pandora, Myspace, and more.
Specifications:
- 5x times download speed than your normal browser
- Easy manage downloads with tags
- Free
YTMP3
YTMP3 is a YouTube file downloader that allows you to save files in either mp3 or mp4 format.
Specifications:
- No installation needed
- Download files from browsers
- Free
AllToMP3
AllToMP3 is a desktop application that allows free music downloads from Spotify, SoundCloud, Youtube, and Deezer.
Specifications:
- Supports Windows, macOS, and GNU/Linux.
- Free
Apple Music Converter
Is a macOS and Windows application that allows you to download DRM protected audio from Apple Music.
Specifications:
- Converts M4P songs to MP3
- Guarantees 100% original quality
- One-time payment
DRmare Audio Capture
Is an application for macOS that captures songs across different music streaming platforms.
Specifications:
- Supports FLAC output format
- Records from any sites
- One-time payment
iMusic
iMusic is an application for Windows and Mac that allows you to download tracks and playlist from music streaming platforms for free.
Specifications:
- Saves playlist and tracks in a single download
- Supports MP3 and MP4 files
- One-time payment
Downloading music for free can be illegal and legal. If you download a song with copyright for free and from an unofficial site, you are technically stealing it. That means it’s illegal and is punishable by law. However, not all music is copyrighted. Some independent artists make their songs available online so you can download them for free and legally. While some might ask how do we draw a line between the two?
The answer is pretty straightforward. Before you decided to download copyrighted music, always go to legitimate platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. It may require a buck to download music from these sites, but it’s essential to keep the music industry alive and support your favorite artists. If you cannot afford these extra fees, stick to streaming instead of using illegal third-party sites and torrent downloaders to save music.
For music without copyrights, there are sites where you can download them for free and legally like Jamendo Music. Most of the tracks here are made by independent artists and are published to expand their reach.
For some people, listening to music makes them disappear in their own world. However, your listening experience wouldn’t be perfect with a good pair of headphones and speakers. Here are some devices that can further optimize the way you listen to music.
Wireless Headphones
Wireless headphones are big things today. The best wireless headphones optimize listening habits and give people a completely different experience. Imagine singing along with your favorite piece without constantly having to fix twisted wires.
Most wireless headphones work with Bluetooth, which connects nearby devices without the aid of cable or wire. But not all wireless headphones use Bluetooth. Some rely on infrared and radiofrequency waves, which use base units to connect devices.
Noise Cancellation Headphones
Headphones with noise cancellation technology are also becoming a thing today. As the name suggests, this device minimizes external noise you can focus on your music. They do this by producing an anti-noise signal that drowns out unwanted noises from your environment.
Audiophile Headphones
Audiophile Headphones are the best buy for all music lovers when we speak of high fidelity. This type of headphone is custom made with high-end components to give users the best audio quality there can be. It ensures no distortion even to the most complex music signals.
Audiophile Headphones may sound lucrative ─ they cost a lot more compared to regular ones. But, they are definitely worth a try.
Portable Speakers
Portable speakers are a good option for a better music listening. They don’t only allow you to enjoy music on your own, they also let you share your favorite songs with others. Having Bluetooth-powered speakers by your side means you can party wherever you carry them. The best thing about Bluetooth speakers is that they connect seamlessly to any device.
Computer Speakers
Computers are also a great option for streaming music. However, it’s built-in speakers are sometimes not enough. Optimizing it with a good pair of speakers is a great idea. If you worry it would cost you a fortune, fret not. There’s a bunch of good quality computer speakers under $50 you can buy.
There’s a lot to consider to fully enjoy music. Choosing a streaming platform that fits your taste for music is the first step. But in the long run, you should also learn how to download music. You wouldn’t know when you will unexpectedly run out of the internet. And when that happens, it’s life-saving to have some tracks saved on your device.
