Choosing a streaming platform can be a complicated business. Especially since the price argument is no longer an argument: in recent months, several platforms have increased the price of their monthly subscriptions. These are almost all in the $11 or 12/month range. And what about you? Which platform best meets your needs? We’re all the same: we need to gather opinions and read tests before deciding. Soundiiz understands this, and we regularly publish reviews of streaming platforms to give you a clearer picture and, above all, to help you know which platform best suits your needs. Today, we’re taking a look at the French streaming giant. Deezer: our review!
We have plenty to tell you and analyze, so let’s save time and dive into the Deezer story!
A bit of history
In 2006, from a Parisian apartment, Daniel Marhely envisioned a platform that would make all the world’s music accessible. This vision led to the creation of Blogmusik, the precursor to Deezer. Despite its closure due to piracy concerns, Daniel and his team persisted, and in 2007, they launched Deezer with the help of business school student Jonathan Benassaya. The platform’s success was rapid, and by 2009, it had introduced a Premium package and expanded its catalog with the inclusion of Universal Music and Warner Music references.
To keep up with increasingly fierce competitors, Deezer formed partnerships with major French companies, including a Deezer subscription with another subscription or purchasing a product. The strategy is innovative and generates a sizeable number of new customers. Between 2015 and 2016, Deezer entered the American market, investing in podcasts and offering an audiophile version of its services. Today, Deezer hopes to continue its international expansion. The company has big ambitions. In April 2023, Jeronimo Folgueira, Deezer’s new CEO, was included on Billboard’s famous list of International Power Players, recognizing the most influential personalities in the music world.
Deezer recently changed its logo and launched several communication campaigns to promote its evolution. This is a sign that the company is still expanding and should continue to make noise in the years after almost 20 years of existence and nearly 10 million subscribers.
Deezer: our review regarding prices and subscription
There is no revolution here. Like its competitors, Deezer recently raised its monthly prices. You’ll pay $11.99 per month for a Premium package. Deezer also offers a Family, Duo, and Student plan. It offers flexible plans to tailor your subscription to your needs. Deezer sets itself apart from the competition because, in addition to the two months free, you can benefit from a 25% discount if you choose to pay for the whole year in one go rather than every month. A Premium subscription will cost over $100, compared with around $150 for a monthly subscription. Think about it!
If you live in France, the platform has formed partnerships with several companies that allow you to get a few months of free subscription and thus save over a year on the cost of your subscription.
The possibility of using the Premium version for two months without paying a cent is beautiful and should enable you to choose with complete peace of mind. For example, it’s more than Apple Music, and that’s no mean feat.
How much does Deezer pay artists?
While not yet one of the best performers, Deezer is one of the platforms that pays artists the most. According to a study by MusicianWave.com in July 2023, Deezer pays $0.0067 per stream.
The platform also offers The Deezer Next initiative to help developing artists emerge and assist them with promotion and marketing.
Deezer’s strategy is not just about providing a platform for music; it’s about supporting artists. While there’s room for improvement, Deezer strives to remunerate artists fairly and equip them with tools to advance their careers. The Deezer Next initiative is a prime example, offering a platform for emerging artists to gain exposure and assistance with promotion and marketing. Deezer fosters an engaged community that appreciates and supports new talent by featuring these artists in their editorial content and interviews.
For all these reasons, Deezer does an excellent job of supporting artists. They can’t be accused of doing the bare minimum, and their efforts are appreciated. Let’s hope their predicted rise to prominence over the coming months and years will translate into fairer remuneration for artists.
Deezer: our review regarding its catalog
On this point, our opinion is divided. There’s nothing to report regarding the songs and albums available. Like its competitors, you should find everything you want on Deezer.
But Deezer is average in terms of podcasts, radio, and audiobooks. Apple Music is above average for radio, and Spotify seems more attractive for podcasts and audiobooks. So, we can’t say that Deezer is among the best in the business.
It stands out neither positively nor negatively. Deezer offers what many people expect from a streaming platform: a massive catalog of songs, podcasts, and audiobooks.
Deezer: our review regarding user experience & algorithm
Let’s face it: Deezer is one of the most ergonomic platforms on the market. Since its arrival, its user experience has been heralded as one of the most solid on the market. Recently, Deezer has made several changes to its navigation system, and it’s clear that these efforts have paid off. For example, the podcast section now has a separate entry. This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s a clever move and a way of highlighting a sector in which Deezer has invested. It’s all subjective, of course, and if you’ve been using another platform for years, you’ll no doubt be slightly disconcerted by the new interface. But you’ll soon get the hang of it, as everything seems so natural.
The most crucial point in this section concerns the algorithm and recommendation system. Deezer bases its power of attraction on its “Flow” functionality. Flow generates a continuous “flow” of songs based on your library. It allows you to browse endlessly among pieces that should match your tastes. In practice, the suggestions are relevant. Does this put Deezer on par with Spotify, which is considered the leader in music recommendations? Not quite, but Deezer comes close. They may lack the greater diversity in playlists and options to rival their rival. But Deezer is on the right track!
We also appreciate Deezer’s editorial content: its articles, broadcasts, including the Deezer Sessions, and live, filmed formats that showcase artists in a minimalist atmosphere. Deezer tries to highlight the emerging music scene, and between its content and playlists, it does an excellent job of clearing the way.
Another success for Deezer in this section!
Deezer: our review regarding audio quality
Audio quality is undoubtedly one of Deezer’s most significant plus points. While it does not offer the same audio quality as TIDAL or Qobuz, Deezer provides a service in “Hifi” quality for most audiophiles among you. And it is enough to make this matter more interesting than Spotify.
They’ve also added Sony 360 Audio technology, which lets you listen to music as if sounds emanated from around you. Sony describes it as follows:
“360 Reality Audio is a new immersive music experience that uses Sony’s (object-based) 360 Spatial Sound technology. Individual sounds such as vocals, chorus, piano, guitar, bass, and even sounds of the live audience can be placed in a 360 spherical sound field, giving artists and creators a new way to express their creativity.”
Deezer: our review – Let’s sum it up!
Deezer has it all. A beautiful user interface, HD options for listening to your songs in superior quality, an ever-improving recommendation algorithm, and a contained price. Present in most countries on all continents, it knows no boundaries to its expansion.
We see a few reasons not to subscribe to Deezer. The platform brings together the best of many worlds and is almost flawless. As we pointed out above, the platform could do with a little effort regarding artist remuneration, which is ultimately common to all its competitors. For audiophiles, its HD options will no doubt be perceived as less impressive than those of TIDAL or Qobuz, and music recommendations are less precise than those of Spotify.
But if you’re looking for a balanced music streaming platform at a contained price with a solid catalog, Deezer is the way to go! Moreover, they have numerous operations to promote emerging artists, and Soundiiz is particularly sensitive to this.
How to make the most of Deezer with Soundiiz?
Once you’ve signed up you can extend your streaming experience with Soundiiz. We work hand in hand with the streaming platforms to offer you the best possible user experience. And yes, our services are 100% legal because we don’t download or retrieve any audio files.
With Soundiiz, once your Deezer account is connected to your Soundiiz account, you can delete and update multiple playlists and manage everything in one place: you can keep your playlists up to date and never out of date.
And don’t worry if you’ve already subscribed to Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music. One thing that holds many people back in their decision to switch streaming platforms is the fear of losing data (playlists, favorite songs, etc.) accumulated over the years on their old streaming service.
Soundiiz allows you to avoid the embarrassing situation of arriving at Deezer and starting from scratch. Building up a library of artists, songs, albums, or playlists… Wouldn’t that be frustrating?
With Soundiiz, you can find all your Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, YouTube Music, and other data directly in your Deezer account in just a few seconds.
How does it work? It’s so easy! You can use our Transfer function. There you go: subscribe to Deezer and import your data using Soundiiz!
