Over the past few years, online music streaming has been the craze. According to Forbes, over “317.2 billion songs streamed in 2015.” People are able to conjure up music at the touch of a fingertip, and have access to the extensive world of audio playback.

“Music is expensive,” junior Karissa Smith said. “With [streaming apps], I can listen to anything as much as I want–we’ve got playlists with unlimited slips. You can download music too, which is nice.”

The two main streaming sources on the market are Apple Music and Spotify Premium, and as most things go in the media… there’s a debate behind it.

“People just like to have something to fight about,” senior Madison Sutton said. “This is just an easy topic to make a big deal of.”

Apple Music, launched in 2015, is exclusive to users of Apple products, while Spotify is available to consumers of several different operating systems.

“I use Apple Music because it’s more accessible, already being on [my iPhone],” junior Damien Hamilton said. “You have to download Spotify, so I just found [Apple Music] easier to use.”

The Spotify app launched in 2008. Basic membership is available for free, but consumers must purchase the service’s “Premium” feature to download songs and play certain content.

“I’d always go over on my data just using regular Spotify because I couldn’t download songs,” senior Madison Sutton said. “When Apple Music came out, I thought it was weird so I stuck with regular Spotify. This year for my birthday, I got Spotify Premium and I don’t think I could ever go back.”

According to several users, Spotify is “playlist based” and provides generated lists for dozens of moods and atmospheres.

“I have like thousands of playlists [on Spotify],” junior Jera Davis said. “After trying Apple Music for a few weeks, I just found it hard to find the music I wanted to listen to.”

Now, more than ever, students all around the world depend on streaming services to get through their day. Due to their high volume of young users, both Spotify Premium and Apple Music are available to college students for $4.99.

“You have a huge variety of songs to choose from when you stream your music [versus buying each song],” junior Elena Rossi. “You can look for any kind of song and just have it without any issue.”