What is the best platform for streaming music?

Apple Music is the best music streaming service because it can integrate with Macbooks

Question: What is the best platform for streaming music?
Position‹3 of 5›: Apple Music is the best streaming service
Argument‹2 of 2: Apple Music is the best music streaming service because it can integrate with Macbooks

Apple Music's integration with iTunes means that you can upload all your own music (including CDs and other purchases) to enjoy your own music along with Apple's catalog. Apple Music also integrates with the entire iOS ecosystem.

The argument

iTunes was integrated into all Apple products for the better part of 18 years; music-lovers that still listened to their playlists from 2005 and who had amassed a collection of thousands of songs feared that all of this data might be erased after Apple revealed in 2019 that iTunes would be discontinued. However, its replacement promised a seamless transition that allowed Apple users to keep all of their previously downloaded songs, playlists, MP3's, ripped CD's, etc. Access to that content is not possible for those that had switched to Spotify, YouTube Music, or any other streaming service. The availability of the iCloud Music Library feature allows users to sync their entire Apple Music catalog to any other device signed in with the same Apple ID. Apple Music works on all Apple devices including, but not limited to, CarPlay, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod. It also runs on devices that are not made by Apple, such as PC, Android, and Amazon Echo. While other streaming services also work on various devices and interfaces, they do not offer full integration within Apple's entire ecosystem.

Premises

[P1]A music streaming service is best when it preserves users' existing music libraries and integrates seamlessly across their devices. [P2] Apple Music preserves iTunes libraries (downloads, playlists, ripped CDs) that competing services cannot access. [P3] Apple Music, via iCloud Music Library, integrates fully across Apple's ecosystem while also running on non-Apple devices, which rival services do not match. [C] Therefore, Apple Music is the best music streaming service.

Counter-arguments

If you are an Apple user, the integrated ecosystem is a very strong plus. However, for those who do not own Apple devices (or only have a couple), there is a lot of wasted potentials. And while Apple Music is indeed available on non-Apple devices, Android and PC users have complained about the lesser quality and difficulty it takes to run the app on their respective devices. PC users oftentimes have to resort to using unofficial web players such as Musish, which lack certain features that the official Apple Music program has.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The criterion is chosen to fit the answer. Library preservation and device integration matter to one kind of listener; catalogue depth, discovery, recommendation quality and price are what most people compare, and the premise leaves all of them out. [Rejecting P2] Rival services import existing libraries and match uploaded tracks, and a ripped or purchased file remains playable in any local player. What does not transfer is a store history tied to one account — a consequence of the ecosystem rather than a merit of the service. [Rejecting P3] Integration across Apple's devices is a benefit only to people already inside that ecosystem, and by the argument's own account the cross-platform apps are the weak point: Windows and Android users report a poorer client, which tells against a claim that the service is best in general.

Proponents cited

Bradley Chambers
“Even if I wanted to leave Apple Music and switch to Spotify for features like Release Radar or Discover Weekly, iCloud Music Library would keep me from pulling the trigger. I love how I can purchase live tracks directly from a band or convert a live concert into MP3, and have it live right beside the songs I’ve added from Apple Music.”
Lance Whitney
“iTunes has long been necessary to sync and manage music and other content between your computer and iOS devices. But what started life as a simple piece of software gradually mushroomed into a big, bloated, buggy application that was saddled with too many features for its own good. For macOS Catalina, Apple finally got the message and has jettisoned iTunes in favor of smaller dedicated applications for your music, podcasts, TV shows and movies, and audiobooks.”
Jason Aten
“Remember all that music you purchased way back when from iTunes? It's all in Apple Music. Even music you added from ripping your massive CD collection can be automatically synced to the cloud, and Apple will provide high-quality versions to stream on any device. Yes, technically, Spotify has a way to add your music library, but it's cumbersome and not at all intuitive. You have to add them from the desktop version, then put them in a playlist, then make sure your mobile device is on the same WiFi connection as your desktop, and finally download that playlist. Super easy, right?”