Spotify VS. Google Play Music All Access: Streaming music services are numerous on the web today and Spotify Premium and Google Play Music All Access are the category leaders when it comes to paid subscription.

As we continue to cover the two dominant music player in the field, one of our readers chimed in suggesting the web player version of the GMAA.

“The webplayer itself is better with GMAA, and the uploading ability is 10/10 - it's so much easier to switch between platforms, when borrowing a friend's computer, etc. And the Android app is BRILLIANT. They're both great players, but I hardly think the connection with social media is important. I can't imagine that most people actually care - I use last.fm with Chrome extensions, and turned off fb Spotify notifications completely,” writes user map42892.

“And honestly, I was lucky to catch the lower monthly subscription when GMAA first came out. I think that if they want to reach a wider audience with such a seamless, user-friendly player with an extensive library, they should go back down to $7.99/mo for everyone.”

It is worth noting that pricing for Spotify Premium varies per country.

PRICE & ACCESS

Both music streaming services offer unlimited ad-free streaming for subscription. However, in Spotify, you can listen to music online for free. The catch is that there are occasional ads popping up. You can also skip music being played for only a few times. But for a monthly subscription of $9.99, Spotify Premium gives you all the liberty to play music offline. Google Play Music allows you to listen to unlimited songs free, but with ads, but with the Google Play Music All Access, you’re able to enjoy ads-free listening for $9.99 a month.

Spotify, however, is the biggest subscription streaming music service available. According to The Guardian, it has 40 million active users and 10 million paying subscribers.

Google Play Music needs to widen its reach if it plans to take the leading music streaming service down. As of the moment, Spotify has the edge when it comes to reach because it has a desktop application available for PC or Mac that lets you connect the music you’re listening to from your mobile or tablet to the computer.

Matt Peckham of TIME says, “I had mixed feelings about Google Play Music when it launched last May [2013] with fewer perks than a service like Spotify. But if you prefer Google’s online app-related modus operandi, Google Play Music lets you upload up to 20,000 songs of your choosing (accessible across all devices).”

Google Play Music’s edge is that it lets you add that much music to your very own online music library. This is definitely a plus because it will let you save storage from your device. Meanwhile, Spotify has its own way of giving you your own library by letting you create your own playlist. But admittedly, it is more limited compared to what Google Play Music All Access can offer.

However, only Spotify is connected with social media networks. It lets you see what your friends are listening. “Spotify is more social, and all my friends use it. I also actually like the FB integration. I can't easily share music with my non-G+ friends using All Access,” says one user in reddit.com.

Peckham adds, “Spotify offers high fidelity streaming and a robust 20-million song catalog across a range of platforms with conventional social networking options, all for a flat take-it-or-leave-it $10 a month.”

From the looks of it, Google Play Music All Access has the potential to take Spotify head on. However, for now, the contender needs to improve its accessibility and reach.