The race to be the superior music streaming service just got interesting.
Spotify recently announced its new partnership with Hulu that gives college students in the U.S. access to limitless movie, TV and music streaming through both platforms for only $5 a month.
What more could a broke college student want? As long as you can prove you’re enrolled in an undergraduate program in the U.S., you have access to unlimited streaming through both services for a fraction of the price. Both subscriptions retail for a combined total of $18 per month (without the Spotify student discount), so with the new partnership, you’ll save about $156 per year. What. A. Deal.
Granted, Hulu is no Netflix. It falls short in comparison in a few ways, the first and foremost being the ads placed periodically through programs. That weird Charmin toilet paper ad really loses its creepy charm after you’ve watched it for the 18th time in one night. Thankfully, those commercials can vanish if you’re willing to pay an extra $4 a month.
And Hulu also has its perks. Its selection of reality TV is seriously impressive, with a long list of programs like Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Fixer Upper. You can even relive your 2010 glory days and rewatch all 74 episodes of Jersey Shore. Hulu’s selection in that genre puts Netflix’s to shame.
Hulu also provides next-day access to ABC, NBC and Fox programs. If you miss an episode of The Bachelor, you can easily catch up in your spare time before the next episode airs.
Hulu’s original productions are also getting more and more attention, too. The Handmaid’s Tale, which was released earlier this year, won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
Spotify, in comparison to its newest and biggest competitor Apple Music, takes its own wins and losses. Apple has about 10 million more songs available in its library, and many artists have signed exclusivity or first-release deals with the American tech giant.
Spotify, however, takes the cake on its music discovery options with features like the Discover Weekly and New Music Friday playlists. Its algorithm can impressively predict what kind of artists to introduce you to next so your library never gets old.
In short, this deal is great, no matter which services your loyalties lie with. You get access to a whole lot of content for not a lot of money, and you can spend that extra $13 a month you save on burritos. Or your electric bill.
