Which music app can play in background?
Introducing Music Apps that Play in the Background
Playing music in the background means the music continues to play even when you switch apps or lock your phone’s screen. This allows you to listen to music uninterrupted while simultaneously using other apps, browsing the web, or doing other tasks on your device.
The ability to play music in the background is a highly desirable feature for music apps because it provides a seamless listening experience. Without background play, the music would stop whenever you leave the music app. Background play allows you to navigate away from the app while the music keeps streaming uninterrupted.
Background play also enables you to multitask more efficiently. You can respond to messages, emails, or calls without having to manually pause your music each time. Similarly, you can open maps or other apps that require audio guidance without disrupting your listening.
In short, music apps with background play allow you to listen to music continuously while simultaneously using your device for other purposes. This capability greatly improves the utility of music apps and allows you to get more done without constantly starting and stopping playback.
Spotify
Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services that offers a free tier with ads as well as a premium ad-free tier. By default, Spotify’s free tier stops playing music in the background after a certain amount of time on mobile devices. However, Spotify Premium subscribers can enjoy continuous playback even when the app is running in the background across mobile and desktop (source).
On iOS devices, background play is available for Spotify Premium users but not for free users. The free tier will pause after 15 minutes of inactivity. On Android, background play is available for both free and premium tiers, but the free version will be limited to playlists in shuffle mode. Desktop users on Mac and Windows can play Spotify in the background with no restrictions (source).
So in summary, Spotify Premium allows full background playback across mobile and desktop platforms with no interruptions. The free tier has some limitations, especially on iOS, but background play is still possible in a restricted form on Android mobiles.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music allows you to listen to music in the background while using other apps, but only with a YouTube Music Premium subscription. Without a paid subscription, background play is limited to 1-hour sessions that need to be manually restarted (reference 1).
With a YouTube Music Premium subscription, which costs $9.99/month, you can enjoy seamless, uninterrupted playback while minimizing the app or switching to other apps (reference 1). This works across Android and iOS devices.
Some limitations of YouTube Music’s background playback feature include:
- Requires a paid YouTube Music Premium subscription
- Downloading music for offline playback requires a Premium subscription
- Only available on mobile apps, not the YouTube Music web player
Overall, the background listening feature is a key benefit of YouTube Music Premium. It allows you to keep the music going while texting, browsing, gaming, and using other apps on your phone (reference 2). If you frequently listen to music on YouTube and want an uninterrupted experience, Premium is worth considering.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music allows you to play music in the background, even when the screen is locked or the app is closed, with certain limitations depending on your subscription tier. The free ad-supported version of Amazon Music will stop playing after a period of inactivity, while premium subscriptions like Amazon Music Unlimited allow continuous playback.[1]
With Amazon Music Unlimited, which starts at $7.99/month for Prime members, you get unlimited skips, downloads, and ad-free listening, including the ability to continue playing music when the screen is off or the app is in the background.[2] This allows you to listen to music uninterrupted during activities like exercising, commuting, or sleeping.
However, those with just the free version of Amazon Music will experience playback stopping after a period of inactivity due to restrictions on background playback. So for continuous music regardless of screen or app status, it’s recommended to upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited.
Apple Music
Apple Music allows you to play music in the background on iOS devices while using other apps. This is enabled by default, so you can start playing music and then switch to another app and the music will continue playing. On iPhones, you can access playback controls from the lock screen or Control Center while in another app.
Apple Music also integrates with Siri, allowing you to use voice commands to control playback even when the app is in the background or your phone is locked. You can ask Siri to play certain songs, albums, playlists or stations. Siri also understands natural language requests like “play something chill” or “play some upbeat pop.”
On Android devices, background play is more limited. Playback will pause if you leave the Apple Music app. However, Android does allow some level of background play for Apple Music if you pay for a subscription. You can then access playback controls from the notification shade.
Overall, Apple Music’s background audio and Siri integration provides a seamless listening experience on iOS. But background play is more restricted on Android unless you subscribe. For details, see Apple’s support article on playing background sounds on iPhone.
Google Play Music
Google Play Music allowed users to play music in the background across Android and iOS devices. The app offered ad-free playback of uploaded music libraries and streaming songs with a Google Play Music subscription. One of the key features was background playback, enabling users to listen to music while using other apps or with the device screen turned off.
According to Google Support, Google Play Music provided seamless background playback across mobile devices. Users could minimize the app or lock their phone screens and the music would continue uninterrupted. This allowed people to listen to playlists, albums or stations while browsing the web, using social media, gaming and other activities.
Transition to YouTube Music
In 2020, Google announced it was shutting down Google Play Music and transitioning users to YouTube Music. While background playback was a staple of Google Play Music, it is more limited on YouTube Music.
Pandora
Pandora is one of the most popular music streaming services that allows listening to music in the background on both iOS and Android devices. The ability to play music in the background is available for free and paid Pandora users.
On iOS devices, Pandora will continue playing music in the background as long as the app is left open. If you close the Pandora app, the music will stop after about 5 minutes. There is no setting required to enable background audio on iOS.
On Android, background audio playback requires enabling the “Allow Background Activity” setting in the Pandora app settings. This allows Pandora to continue playing music even when using other apps or with the screen off. According to users on forums like Pandora’s community site, this setting may sometimes get disabled and require re-enabling.
One limitation to note is that Pandora’s free tier allows unlimited streaming with ads, but limits to 6 skips per station per hour. Pandora Plus and Premium subscriptions remove ads and allow unlimited skips.
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio is a popular free music and podcast streaming app developed by iHeartMedia. It allows users to listen to over 250,000 radio stations as well as millions of songs and podcasts. One of the key features of iHeartRadio is its ability to play audio in the background across devices.
By default, iHeartRadio will continue playing music when the screen is turned off or the app is in the background on both iOS and Android devices [1]. This allows users to listen to music or radio while using other apps, with the screen locked, or when the phone is idle. On iOS devices, background audio playback needs to be enabled in Settings under iHeartRadio’s permissions. For Android devices, the app needs to be excluded from battery optimization and adaptive battery management for uninterrupted background play [2].
However, some users have reported issues with background play stopping especially when using other resource intensive apps. There are also complaints about background audio cutting out on certain Android devices. So the background play functionality may not be completely seamless across all devices and use cases [3].
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is one of the most popular music streaming apps, allowing users to discover and listen to an extensive collection of emerging and underground artists. However, its background play capabilities are limited for free users.
While SoundCloud’s mobile and desktop apps do allow you to play music in the background initially, they will stop playback after a few tracks unless you upgrade to their paid Go+ subscription plan (cited: Reddit Source, Github Issue Tracker). This is likely an attempt to convert more users into paid subscribers.
Therefore, SoundCloud may not be the ideal option if you’re looking for an app that allows continuous, uninterrupted background playback unless you’re willing to pay a monthly fee. For budget-conscious users who still want underground and indie music, other free streaming apps may be preferable.
Tidal
Tidal is a music streaming service that offers high fidelity audio quality. On Android, Tidal has background play enabled by default so the music will keep playing even when you switch apps or lock your screen. This works seamlessly without any settings needing to be changed.
On iOS, background play is available but with some limitations. For free users on iOS, Tidal will only play in the background for a short time before stopping. Paid subscribers have full background listening without any restrictions. According to a Reddit user, background play on iOS can be unreliable and the music often stops when swapping between apps or locking the screen.
Overall, Tidal’s background play functionality works well on Android but is limited on iOS unless you upgrade to a paid subscription plan. Free users on iOS may face frequent interruptions which could be frustrating.
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