Spotify is a better alternative than Apple Music for K-Pop fans in India: Here’s how

Apple Music has so far held the crown for having the biggest K-Pop library in India. Spotify, however, offers availability of more K-Pop content.

Popular K-Pop playlists on Spotify. (Spotify)

Spotify's launch in India received a hearty welcome by podcasts and music buffs, especially from K-Pop fans in the country. Twitter was lit with K-Pop fans sharing their excitement over the availability of Spotify in India.

India isn't devoid of streaming apps; in fact users are spoilt with choices. However, there are only a few platforms which offer good catalogue and playlists for K-Pop music. Notably, Apple Music has been the prime platform for K-Pop songs having the biggest library in India. But the streaming service still lacks a wide variety of K-Pop songs in the country.

Interestingly enough, Apple Music does have most of the K-Pop content but hasn't made them available in India. Apple Music didn't have older albums of one of the most popular K-Pop groups, BTS in India. It was only in 2017 that older BTS albums like Wings arrived on the platform. One would still find most songs and albums from the popular K-Pop groups like Exo, BTS, Big Bang, and Black Pink on Apple Music.

Thanks @bts_twt for welcoming @spotifyindia! #ARMY, we heard you!💜 Can't wait to see what's next from these music giants...#SpotifyIndiaXBTS #SpotifyIndia pic.twitter.com/yYcsbmpFO8

— Spotify ❤️ K-Pop (@SpotifyKDaebak) February 27, 2019

For K-Pop multi-fans, Apple Music was often a disappointment when it came to availability of songs. Spotify, on the other hand has a bigger library of K-Pop songs. Here's a comparison drawn between Apple Music and Spotify simply on the basis of availability of songs.

Songs like Momoland's Boom Boom, Infinite's Tell Me and IU's Bibibi are not available on Apple Music in India. Spotify offers all three songs on its service. More examples include songs like Don't Recall and Oh Na Na from KARD, and Windflower from Mamamoo. All of these songs are available on Spotify.

Apple Music has older songs of Mamamoo, while Spotify is updated with the latest tracks. (Screenshot)

Apple Music has older songs of Mamamoo, while Spotify is updated with the latest tracks. (Screenshot)

If you're a big K-Pop listener and are struggling to choose between Apple Music and Spotify, the latter is better, at least in terms of availability. Pricing between the two services are almost the same with monthly subscriptions starting at ₹120 and ₹119 for Apple Music and Spotify respectively.

Apple Music however offers a cheaper family plan of ₹190 monthly for up to six members. Spotify also comes with India-exclusive top-up plans starting at ₹13 for 1 day and ₹39 for seven days.