Online Music Retailers

Spotify

Spotify is an industry leading music streaming service which allows users to listen for free or via an ad-free subscription. Subscription prices vary based on which plan is chosen. Spotify works with independent artists and record labels via digital distributors, and artists are paid relative to how many times their songs are streamed. 

Apple Music

Apple Music is one of the largest music streaming services in the world. The service is purchased through a monthly subscription, which varies in price between different plans. Apple Music users can stream unlimited music from a library of 60 million songs as well as download music for offline listening, or purchase the music directly to own it permanently. Apple Music works with independent artists and record labels via digital distributors, and artists are paid relative to how many times their songs are streamed.

Amazon Music

Amazon Music is a streaming service which offers both free and paid listening options. Amazon’s free service offers playlists and radio stations, but has occasional advertisement breaks. Amazon Music also has two tiers of paid subscriptions: a 2 million song library that comes with Amazon Prime and a 60 million song library that can be purchased as a separate subscription. Amazon Music works with independent artists and record labels via digital distributors, and artists are paid relative to how many times their songs are streamed.

Deezer

Deezer is a French music streaming service with free and subscription-based listening. Deezer boasts a library of 56 million tracks and offers a unique Hi-Fi subscription plan with uncompressed FLAC tracks for superior sound quality. Deezer works with independent artists and record labels via digital distributors, and artists are paid relative to how many times their songs are streamed.

SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a music streaming service which offers free listening or ad-free subscriptions. SoundCloud is unique among major streaming services because it does not require artists to use a digital distribution company or record label to publish music. This means SoundCloud has almost no barriers to entry for uploading music, and as such has a library of over 150 million tracks. SoundCloud is an especially thriving community for genres like hip hop, indie, and electronic, and artists often build off of one another on the site (remixes, sampling, covers, etc.). SoundCloud artists can earn money through the Premier monetization program, which pays artists for monetized streams.

eMusic

Location: New York, NY 10016
eMusic is an indie-focused online music store which works with independent record labels to create a marketplace for buying and selling music. The service is discovery-oriented and features many opportunities to explore a wide range of lesser known artists. Music can be purchased directly though the site, and members on the site receive discounts.