Deezer

Author: Kalicia Bateman

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The Good

Besides being unavailable in the US, one of the biggest factors working in favor of Deezer is how globally accessible it is. Having been around for only seven years, it's pretty impressive that the company has already expanded to reach 180 countries. That speaks well of the service Deezer provides. The more customers are pleased, the more a company can grow. Being a global company works in your favor too. If you travel, you can take your music with you. Deezer is available on all the basic platforms: Web, desktop, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, specifically. The sound quality isn't bad either. If you pay for the Premium+ package, you'll listen to tracks at a bit rate of 320 kbps. Deezer Elite, an even more advanced package, offers even an even higher sound quality, at five times the standard bit rate. With a Deezer account you get more than average music streaming. The features on its website give you more personalization and convenience than some competitors can claim:

• "Flow" is a personalized radio channel Deezer creates based on your preferences and the songs in your music library. With this feature, you enjoy an automatic playlist rather than having to create your own.
• Premium+ gives you the opportunity to download tracks and listen to them offline.
• As a Premium+ member, you can win prizes and tickets to artists' shows.
• As you listen to tracks online, there's a feature on Deezer to display the lyrics to the song. This can enhance your streaming experience, especially with the songs you love most.

Another feature that sets Deezer apart from competitors is the fact that you can add your own music to their selection. Even if you're not a signed artist, you can submit tracks of songs you've created, and Deezer may add them to their library so you can get heard by other users. And if you are interested in being signed, Deezer recommends label companies to sign with to help you along. The nice thing about Deezer is that it provides a free version. Whether you're looking for a permanently inexpensive service or would like to preview the site before purchasing a subscription, a free version is available for you.

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The Bad

Free or not, streaming with Deezer without a Premium+ subscription has several downsides, including:

• Ads that interrupt your stations.
• Online streaming only (you can't download tracks and listen offline).
• A lower sound quality.
• Less accessibility (you can't listen to songs in your car or on your TV).

That's a con for the company as a competitor because it means you have to pay if you want anything more than the basics. Beyond that, Deezer's free trial is quite short compared to other businesses. You can preview Premium+ streaming free for only 15 days. While any free trial is nice, two weeks is not as much time as other competitors offer. Deezer is also a fairly new business. It has more years of experience than some companies, but seven years is still pretty fresh. What's more, the original company that Deezer replaced (Blogmusik) was shut down due to copyright infringement. It speaks well of the founder that he recreated the company properly and worked hard to gain the rights the second time around. But it's still a red flag to have that negative mark on your company background. The customer support on Deezer's website is somewhat difficult to access. The help page is easy to locate and gives users the chance to submit questions or comments. But there is no clear phone number, email address, or physical address prominently listed to contact the company. There's also no option to chat with a live representative if you need help with technical issues. To their credit, the site does clearly direct you to company background information and details about the founder and other staff members. While it would be useful to have more access to answers on the site, it's very helpful to have company information so that users feel they can trust Deezer itself. For music lovers in the US, probably the biggest drawback to Deezer is the fact that it's not yet available in the country. The good news is that it's coming soon to the US, but until then Americans have to rely on other services to stream music.

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The Bottom Line

What sets Deezer apart from other music streaming services is its excellent global market, extensive library, and many progressive and convenient features. Despite the fact that the company is somewhat young and not yet available in the US, it has grown impressively so far and provides a solid variety of playlists and tracks to current users. So if Deezer is available to you, it's worth listening to.