Pros & Cons
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- Crisp audio.
- Strong discovery features.
- Deep, 20 million-track catalog.
- Well-curated playlists from music experts.
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- No free version.
- Busy interface.
- Lacks lyrics and live radio content.
- Some gimmicky features.
The youth-oriented audio company associated with lauded hip-hop producer Dr. Dre attempts to become a major player in the streaming music space with the recently released Beats Music for Android and iOS (reviewed here). The new service (free-to-use for 7 days, $9.99 per month afterward) specializes in curated playlists you create by selecting favorite artists/genres or by completing a Mad Libs-like questionnaire that gauges your mood. Beats Music, to its credit, dares to be a bit different. Unfortunately, many of the extra features are gimmicky instead of useful. Still, if you're a themed-playlist junkie, there's a lot to like.
Note: Beats Music has a special deal with AT&T that allows the carrier's users to take advantage of a $14.99 per month five-person family plan that grants unlimited streaming and offline listening to 10 devices. This is a steal for households filled with diehard music fans.
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