Apple let it be known on Monday that its fledgling music streaming service currently has 6.5 million subscribers handing over $10 a month. The revelation came courtesy of CEO Tim Cook, who was speaking on stage at a Wall Street Journal technology conference in Laguna Beach, California.
Cook added that another 8.5 million are currently sussing out the service via the free three-month trial, taking the tally for the number of music fans engaging with Apple Music to 15 million.
The Apple boss was upbeat about the user numbers, telling the gathered audience, “To have over 15 million on there, and 6.5 million in the paid category, I’m really happy about it.”
Of course, there’s a chance some of those currently coughing up the monthly fee don’t yet actually realize they’re a paying subscriber and may not want to be a paying subscriber, having failed to switch off the auto-renewal function that kicks in when you start the free trial. In fact, if you’re on the free trial now and want to turn off auto renewal, be sure to check out our simple guide on how to do it.
So how’s Apple Music doing compared to, say, Spotify, one of its main rivals? Well, the most recent paying-subscriber figure we have for the latter is 20 million, announced back in June, so it’s clear Apple still has some work to do to catch one of the top players in the music streaming space.
Spotify, like Apple Music, has around 30 million tracks on its platform and also costs $10 a month (or free with ads). DT recently took an in-depth look at both services to see how they compare.
Of course, it’s early days for the Cupertino company’s service, and with the full weight of the Apple marketing machine behind it, a launch on Android just around the corner, and a team of developers working to knock the platform into shape, we can expect to see the number of people willing to pay for Apple Music increase over time. However, with competition in the space as fierce as ever, the pace of expansion could be slow.
