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3.2

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: April 8th, 2023

While a lot of music streaming companies were founded and launched in the United States, Deezer is an exception. Its roots are actually in Paris, France. Back in 2006 Daniel Marhely, the founder of Deezer, had the goal to provide unlimited music streaming to users, so he created Blogmusik, a streaming site. But business was cut short when, in the first year, Blogmusik was shut down because of its infringement of copyright laws. Despite the setback, Marhely didn't give up on his goal. In August 2007 he brought back his new and improved business and called it Deezer. And this time he made it a point to do things legally so that he had the necessary rights to all the music he streamed. It took him a couple of years to sign properly with the popular label companies and gain the rights. But he did it, and today he is the chief technical officer of Deezer. Since then, the company has grown tremendously. Available in more than 180 countries, it currently provides music to 16 million users every month, 6 million of which are paid subscribers. There are also 35 million tracks and 100 million playlists available to listen to through Deezer, which makes it simple for you, the user, to find a playlist that matches your mood or the occasion. Using Deezer is fairly straightforward as well. You choose between listening to a free version (supported by ads) and paying $9.99 per month for a Premium+ account. Registration is optional, but if you do want an account, you create it using your email address, Facebook account, or Google+ account. After that, you're required to provide a username, password, gender, and age. There's one hang-up though: Deezer is still not available in the United States. So if you live in the United States, you can't use it, as it hasn't been set up to stream there. But the company is growing and is currently working on coming to the US, so you can submit your email address online to register for it later on, once it does become available. Before you decide, here's what it has to offer. Like any music streaming competitor, it has its pros and cons.

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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.
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Star Rating

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2.5

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12 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

17%

4 grade

8%

3 grade

17%

2 grade

25%

1 grade

33%

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Andrew Hinkle Suwanee, GA

The Deezer service is good, in theory, but delivery leaves much to be desired. The software is filled with chronic bugs, and the bigger problem is their tech support, which is deplorable. Spotify is a much more technologically advanced platform, and provides better support. Tidal is light years ahead, but my not have the breadth of audio tracks that Spotify and Deezer have. All in all, Deezer is far more trouble than it's worth. If Deezer would fix their apps and provide adequate support then it would be a worthy consideration. As it currently stands, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.

5 years ago

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Sean Wilson

So, Deezer would be getting an 8 or a 9 for this review, if it wasn't for the fact that their partnership with Cricket Wireless is a little sketchy. They claim to offer a Premium+ account for $6 per month paired with your cell phone bill. The problem is is that this is not exactly a Premium+ account, it's more like Premium Lite. Which would be fine if they actually billed it as such, rather than the Premium+ that it isn't quite. You can only pair one device (presumably your cell phone), rather than the three that their website declares. Anytime you log on to their website via PC, you're restricted to thirty second clips of the same songs you pay monthly to access unrestricted. The app for Windows 10 is slightly less restricting, but you're still limited to shuffle play of whatever playlist you're trying to access. This is dirty business and frankly, just greedy. It's a real shame that they choose to do business like this, as they have a very good selection of music. They have some very obscure stuff that I haven't been able to find on any other music platform.

6 years ago

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Jon Parsons Palo Alto, CA

As a US Deezer user for several years on the US$9.99/mo plan, I am about to jump to Spotify because of the varying sound volume / dynamics of the different pieces. I compile classical music playlists and some have become almost un-listenable without changing the volume every few songs. I do not understand why the volume varies and levels seems to change over time. Customer support does not exist. There is no social element on Deezer, which is what I really miss from Rdio going under - it was really nice in a niche area like classical music and opera. (Rdio - gone but not forgotten!)

4 years ago