When comparing Spotify vs Digitally Imported [DI.fm], the Slant community recommends Spotify for most people. In the question“What are the best music streaming services?” Spotify is ranked 2nd while Digitally Imported [DI.fm] is ranked 13th. The most important reason people chose Spotify is:
Spotify has over 20 million songs and arguably the largest collection out of its competitors and usually has the fastest access to new music. The Spotify desktop client allows local music files to be imported with the option of syncing with a mobile device which largely mitigates the issue of missing artists.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Huge collection of music and fast access to newly released songs
Spotify has over 20 million songs and arguably the largest collection out of its competitors and usually has the fastest access to new music.
The Spotify desktop client allows local music files to be imported with the option of syncing with a mobile device which largely mitigates the issue of missing artists.
Pro Related artists
Helps to find new authors based on your previous picks
Pro Client's functionality can be extended via third-party apps
Spotify desktop client allows for third-party apps. They extend the functionality of Spotify and many of them offer new ways of discovering music. Noteworthy apps include Moodagent, Last.fm, Swarm.fm, ShareMyPlaylists, The Hype Machine, We Are Hunted, Shuffler.fm.
Pro Curated playlists
Public playlists on Spotify created by other people are great for finding new music.
Pro Has a free version
A free, ad-supported account allows streaming from an extensive library of music.
Pro Weekly Discover playlist uses a great algorithm
A playlist generated by Spotify based on your listening habits and released every Monday. The algorithm used by this playlist is great and stands out from its competitors.
Pro Dozens of genre-specific channels
DI.fm currently lists 89 distinct channels, each representing a different sub-genre of electronic music.
Pro Cross-platform
DI.fm has apps for iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows phone.
Cons
Con Free account have lots of ads
If you hate commercials, you would buy Premium or go on using something else.
Con Discovery is terrible
The discovery algorithm is poor and does not learn fast enough. Not obvious how to train it.
Con Poor audio quality
There's a high range of bitrates and most of vary from average to bad.
Con You have to sign up
You can listen to DI.fm for half an hour before you're asked to sign up for a free account.
Con Advertizements with the free account
If you have a free account, the music stream is interrupted fairly often (every few songs) suggesting you upgrade to a pro account.
Con Occasionally the channels won't connect
Every once in a while, the channels won't connect and you have to wait some time and try again.
Con Electronic only
DI.fm is electronic-music only, so you'll be limited to exploring within that genre.