Comparison

Medallion vs Play Dead

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Medallion

Track your concert history, remembering every detail from opening acts to setlists. Discover new music through friends' listening habits and connect with artists directly. Artists can sell tickets to fans without intermediaries.

Highlights
  • Log concert details
  • Track favorite artists
  • Social music discovery
  • Direct artist ticketing
  • View friends' activity
Features
Read full description

Your music history, all in one place. • Log your shows and remember every opening act, setlist and detail for years to come • Never miss an update from your favorite artists • See what your friends are listening to and which shows they’re going to, and find your next favorite through people you trust, not an algorithm • Artists can sell tickets directly to their fans, with no queues, no codes and no bots

About

Play Dead

Access a vast library of officially remastered live Grateful Dead concert recordings. Discover previously unreleased shows and exclusive hi-res audio, with new content added weekly. Stream across devices and enjoy the band's live legacy.

Highlights
  • Official Grateful Dead live recordings
  • Hi-res remastered audio
  • Exclusive 'Dead Drop' releases weekly
  • Previously CD-only shows now streaming
  • Vault organized by year
  • Cross-device listening with Apple CarPlay support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Play Dead is the official Grateful Dead streaming app, offering unprecedented hi-res access to the Grateful Dead Vault of live recordings. For the first time, the band’s live legacy is brought together in a single official streaming service, with newly transferred and mastered recordings from the original sources. Previously unreleased shows - called Dead Drops - will be available every Tuesday, augmenting the catalog of official live Grateful Dead releases, many of which have never been available on any streaming service. The Vault Unlocked Exclusive Hi-Res Recordings Access new high resolution transfers, mastered for the first time and available exclusively on Play Dead. Dead Drops Every Tuesday Previously unreleased recordings added, every Tuesday, curated by Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux, mastered for the first time by David Glasser. CD-Only Releases, Now Streaming Shows previously available only on CD from box sets and Dave’s Picks are now streaming for the first time -only on Play Dead- in higher-than-CD-quality. The Vault by Year Live recordings are presented in order of performance date for the first time in the band’s history. Play Dead brings together three decades of live recordings into a single, evolving app designed for both longtime Dead Heads and those who just got on the bus. Listen Anywhere Listen and resume listening across devices, including Apple CarPlay. Subscription Subscriptions available starting at $9.99/month or $99.99/year. Official Access to the Grateful Dead Vault Created for Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment, longtime stewards of the Grateful Dead catalog. Built by nugs, the leading platform for live music. For nugs Subscribers Play Dead is also available as an add-on to nugs. PlayDead Payment and Auto-Renewal Terms: Play Dead offers auto-renewing monthly and annual subscriptions to stream music from the Play Dead catalog. Two subscription types are available, monthly (30 days) and annual (365 days). All subscriptions auto-renew. A Play Dead monthly subscription is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year for new users. Plans auto-renew at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year after the first year. Payment will be charged to the iTunes Account at the time of your purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the users Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use at http://nugs.net/terms.aspx Privacy Policy at http://nugs.net/privacy.aspx

Screenshots

Medallion4 screens
Play Dead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Medallion at freemium against Play Dead's subscription. Medallion also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Play Dead's advantage is review sentiment (64% vs 33%) and chart position (#112 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Medallion sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month and Play Dead sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Medallion against 4.3 for Play Dead. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 57 and 94 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 33% of Medallion's written reviews are positive against 64% of Play Dead's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Medallion ships an update every 10 days, Play Dead monthly. Both last shipped on November 8, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Medallion versus Play Dead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMedallionPlay Dead
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (57 ratings) — better4.3 (94 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews64.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5794 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#112 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB88 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperMedallion Arts Inc.nugs.net enterprises, LLC

Customer experience

Medallion

All ratings57 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.0%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral3.7%
Negative63.0%

Play Dead

All ratings94 ratings
Positive80.9%
Neutral8.5%
Negative10.6%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative21.4%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Medallion

Subscriptions1
  • Medallion FM$4.991 Month
2 purchases

Play Dead

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Yearly$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Medallion free?
Medallion is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Play Dead free?
Play Dead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Medallion or Play Dead?
Medallion is rated higher. Medallion averages 4.4 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while Play Dead averages 4.3 from 94 ratings.
Do Medallion or Play Dead have ads?
Neither Medallion nor Play Dead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Medallion or Play Dead?
Medallion ships an update every 10 days, and Play Dead monthly. Most recently, Medallion was updated on November 8, 2026 and Play Dead on November 8, 2026.

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