The long battle between Spotify and Apple Music gets tugged on daily, but who could be the final decision maker? College students.
Pepperdine students debate whether Spotify or Apple Music are better and what their favorite features are.
“Spotify is my favorite streaming service, I love all my different playlists,” first-year Taylor Parnagian said.
Apple Music
First-year Allison Calvillo said she’s been an avid Apple Music user for years and would choose it over Spotify any day.
“You have a guarantee your music is straight from the artist, whereas with Spotify, random music can be uploaded,” Cavillo said.
Calvillo said she values the artist getting full recognition for their musical work, with no third party benefiting.
Spotify Aesthetic
Parnagian, who has used Spotify her whole life, said she tends to prefer Spotify’s looks and the unique features Apple Music lacks.
“Spotify’s the most up-to-date, aesthetic and easy to use,” Parnagian said.
Parnagian said Spotify has a better layout compared to Apple Music, with its darker features being more visually appealing.
“The aesthetic and easy navigation is why I use Spotify,” Parnagian said.
Though the popular opinion might be that Spotify looks better, Apple Music tends to be less confusing to Cavillo.
“Apple Music is much easier to use than Spotify,” Cavillo said. “With Spotify, I often got lost.”
One of first-year Taylor Parnagian’s many Spotify playlists she made in 2025. Parnagian said this playlist is her favorite to play in her car. Photo courtesy of Taylor Parnagian
Spotify Personalization
First-year Cienna Garcia said Spotify is accessible while also mentioning its unique personalized features she admires.
“[Spotify] gives customized playlists based on your liked songs, and it helps you discover new music you would like easily,” Garcia said.
Both Garcia and Parnagian said one of the biggest advantages of being in the streaming age of music is how accessible music is and how one can personalize their experience, and Spotify does a perfect job of it.
Apple Replay vs Spotify Wrapped
A fan favorite among college students like Cavillo and Garcia, whether an Apple Music or Spotify user, is the end-of-year Spotify Wrapped or Apple Replay, where each listener discovers their top songs, albums and top artist of the year.
“I still prefer Apple Music’s version of Spotify Wrapped, and Drake was my top artist last year,” Cavillo said.
Cavillo said that although she’s a proud Apple Music user, Spotify Wrapped is the more well-known feature compared to Apple Replay.
“Spotify presents their Wrapped in a really fun and unique way. Spotify Wrapped is like an extra holiday, my top artist was Deftones,” Parnagian said.
Parnagian says her and her friends’ favorite holiday is the day Spotify Wrapped drops and getting to share who their top artist is and how many hours they listened to them.
“Spotify Wrapped has amazing marketing that makes you excited to see it every year,” Parnagian said.
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Contact Avery Pfeifer via email: Avery.pfeifer@pepperdine.edu
