Which app plays music in background?
Introducing Background Music Apps
Background music apps allow you to play audio in the background while using other apps on your mobile device. With a regular music app, the audio will stop when you switch to another app or lock your screen. But background music apps let the music continue playing even when you’re not directly in the music app itself.
People want background music apps so they can listen to audio while multi-tasking on their device. For example, you could play a podcast in the background while browsing social media or gaming. Or play relaxing music while reading an ebook. It allows you to enjoy a continuous soundtrack for any task without interruptions.
Background audio is especially popular for things that don’t require full attention like exercising, commuting, doing chores, and working. The music enhances these activities without becoming a distraction. Many users also rely on background audio to help them focus, relax, or fall asleep.
In summary, background music apps meet the demand for customizable, uninterrupted audio while using your device for other purposes. The convenience and versatility make them a highly sought after capability.
How Music Apps Normally Work
The default behavior for most music apps is to stop playing audio when the app is closed or moved to the background. This is due to mobile operating system limitations that restrict apps from running continuously in the background.
When you start playing a song in a music app like Spotify or Apple Music, the audio playback is handled by the app itself. As soon as you close or minimize the app, the operating system suspends the app’s ability to play audio. This prevents music and other audio from different apps from overlapping. It also conserves battery life and system resources by limiting background activities.
Some audio apps try to workaround this limitation by briefly running in the background when closed. However, they are usually restricted to only playing audio for a few seconds before being suspended by the OS. So in most cases, the music stops shortly after closing or switching away from the app.
Operating System Limitations
Both Android and iOS restrict background audio to conserve battery life and system resources. Android limits background services and processes when the app is idle, especially on Android 8.0 Oreo and higher (Background Execution Limits). Apps must request Audio Background Mode permission to play audio continuously in the background.
On iOS, apps also need to enable the Audio Background Mode to play background audio without interruption (Playing Background Audio). By default, audio stops playing when the user switches to another app. With the audio background mode, playback continues and the system wakes up the app when needed to handle audio tasks.
Top Apps with Background Play
Many popular music streaming apps allow you to play music in the background on both iOS and Android devices. Here are some of the top options:
Spotify – Spotify’s free and premium tiers both support background play. Songs will keep playing when you switch to another app. Spotify has over 70 million tracks and custom playlists. One limitation is you can’t download music for offline listening on the free version. (Source)
YouTube Music – YouTube Music allows background play as part of a paid subscription or with an active YouTube Premium trial. This gives you access to official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio stations. Background play works across mobile and desktop. (Source)
Amazon Music – Amazon Music subscribers can listen across any device and keep playing music when switching apps or locking the screen. Downloads also allow offline listening. Free users are limited to shuffling Amazon’s premade playlists. (Source)
Pandora – Pandora has a free ad-supported tier that allows background listening on mobile devices. For uninterrupted playback, Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium subscriptions offer features like unlimited skips and downloads. (Source)
Apple Music – Apple Music subscribers can listen across all their devices and keep the music playing when switching apps or locking the screen. Downloaded music also works offline. Non-subscribers are limited to iTunes purchased music and Beats1 radio. (Source)
Spotify
Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services that offers background play. By default, Spotify’s mobile app will pause when minimized or when your phone screen turns off. However, Spotify Premium subscribers can enable background listening so music keeps playing even when Spotify isn’t the active app (Source).
To enable background listening in Spotify’s mobile app, go to Settings > Playback and toggle on “Keep audio playing when Spotify is in the background”. This will allow your music to continue playing uninterrupted if you switch to another app or lock your phone’s screen while listening to Spotify (Source). The desktop app also has a setting to enable background play.
Background listening is an essential feature for Spotify Premium users who want to multitask or use other apps while listening to music. It allows you to seamlessly continue enjoying Spotify playlists and albums without any disruptions.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music is Google’s dedicated music streaming app that allows both free users and YouTube Premium subscribers to play music in the background on both Android and iOS devices. While free users are limited to audio-only background play, Premium subscribers can play music videos in the background as well.
On Android, YouTube Music will continue playing audio when the screen is off or the app is minimized. This works seamlessly without any special settings. On iOS, background audio play is available but requires enabling a setting in the app. Simply go to Settings > Background audio and toggle it on.
One limitation with the free YouTube Music app is that playlists and uploads will stop after a few songs. However, Premium subscribers can play playlists and uploaded music indefinitely in the background without interruptions. An added benefit with Premium is the ability to download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening when a WiFi or cellular connection is unavailable.
In summary, YouTube Music provides both free and paid users with background play options on mobile. While free users are limited in some aspects, a YouTube Premium subscription provides the full, uninterrupted background listening experience.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music allows users to play music in the background on both iOS and Android devices. This feature allows you to listen to music while using other apps, or even when your phone screen is locked. According to Amazon’s website, with an Amazon Music subscription you can “listen offline, play music in the background, and enjoy unlimited skips and replays.”
To enable background play in the Amazon Music app, simply start playing a song, then go to your home screen or open another app. The music will keep playing. You can also lock your phone’s screen and the music will not stop. Some users have reported issues with background play stopping unexpectedly, but a force quit and restart of the app usually resolves it.
One advantage of Amazon Music is that it comes bundled with an Amazon Prime subscription. So if you are already a Prime member, you can access a library of over 2 million songs at no extra cost. The background play feature is supported on both Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions.
Pandora
Pandora is one of the most popular music streaming services, known for its automated music recommendation system. By default, Pandora stops playing music when the app is in the background on iOS. However, Pandora offers a paid subscription option called Pandora Plus that enables background listening.
With Pandora Plus, you can continue listening to music stations even when you switch to another app or lock your phone. This makes it easy to enjoy Pandora during activities like exercising, commuting, or doing chores. Pandora Plus also removes ads and allows unlimited skips and replays.
The downside is that Pandora Plus costs $4.99 per month after a 60-day free trial. But for avid Pandora listeners, the uninterrupted music and ad-free experience can be worth the subscription cost. Pandora also offers a step-up Pandora Premium plan with features like on-demand playback and downloads.
So if you frequently use Pandora and want the convenience of background listening, upgrading to Pandora Plus enables that capability on iOS. It provides a seamless listening experience compared to the abrupt stops on the free tier.
Apple Music
Apple Music allows users to play music in the background on iOS devices while using other apps, making it one of the top choices for background audio. This feature is enabled automatically for Apple Music subscribers. To start background audio, simply begin playing a song or playlist, then switch to another app. The music will continue uninterrupted 1.
Apple has optimized iOS and their Apple Music app to keep playing audio smoothly even when the screen is off or the user is in another app. However, app developers need to integrate their apps properly with background audio, or the music may pause when switching away from Apple Music. Overall, Apple Music provides a seamless listening experience and is a great option for those wanting background music capabilities on an iPhone or iPad.
Other Notable Apps
While Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, and Apple Music are some of the most popular and full-featured apps that allow music playback in the background, there are other apps worth mentioning that also provide this capability:
– Google Play Music – Google’s music app lets you upload music and stream songs with background play.
– SoundCloud – The popular audio platform enables background listening if you have a Go+ subscription.
– Tidal – This high fidelity music streaming service offers background play for premium subscribers.
– Audiomack – This free music streaming app supports uninterrupted playback when multitasking.
– Napster – The subscription music service from this classic brand allows background audio.
– Bandcamp – Music downloaded from this marketplace can keep playing in the background.
– Audible – Amazon’s audiobook app enables background listening during other tasks.
While having background audio capability, these apps may differ in music libraries, sound quality, price points, and other features compared to the major services.