Apple has always tried to align itself with the music industry. The iPod was the first mp3 player to go mainstream and become the go-to device for millions. Apple has also worked with several music icons in cross promotions. Now the company is reporting Apple Music is starting to grow exponentially. The Apple Music service now boasts 36-million subscribers in the United States and is growing about 5% monthly. This growth is leading analyst to predict the service will pass Spotify in the United States by summer 2018.
Apple’s subscriber-account base in the U.S. has been growing about 5% monthly, versus Spotify’s 2% clip, according to the people familiar with the numbers. Assuming those growth rates continue, Apple will overtake Spotify in accounts this summer.
While Apple is making strides in the U.S. market, they are still behind globally. Given that Spotify offers their service for free (with ads), they still outpace Apple with over 140 million worldwide subscribers. Both companies offer competitive pricing and the quality of the service is pretty much the same.
Apple’s advantage comes in seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem. One could assume that the release of the HomePod may trigger some iPhone users to switch from Spotify to Apple Music. This would add to Apple’s overall subscriber base. You could even factor in the increase in CarPlay connected cars and aftermarket decks. One other controversial factor that may push users to Apple Music is the lack of explicit filter on Spotify, something Apple offers in its service.
It will be interesting to see if Apple can pull off passing Spotify in the United States. I’m not sure they can pull off the same feat worldwide, given that many users don’t mind the free service from Spotify, even with ads.
What do you think of Apple’s growth in streaming music? Tell us in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
[button link=”https://www.macrumors.com/2018/02/04/apple-music-36-million-subscribers/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: MacRumors[/button]
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