Apple Music may have taken the top slot in the digital streaming music market in the United States.
Per an anonymous source, Apple Music has now surpassed Spotify’s subscriber count in the United States.
The source, which is thought to be a major U.S.-based distributor, is said to have leaked the report with Digital Music News, which follows the subscriber tallies of several streaming music services, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and Sirius XM.
Both Apple Music and Spotify are said to have surpassed the 20 million subscriber number in the U.S., with Apple now “a hair ahead” with “20 million plus” members. The exact figure was reportedly withheld on request of the source to protect confidentiality.
Apple’s growth was said to be due in part by the increasing numbers of devices in consumers’ hands. Apple has also released its HomePod speaker, which includes features specific to Apple Music.
Apple’s service recently surpassed its single-day streaming record, with Drake’s fifth album, Scorpion, notching up over 170 million streams in its first 24 hours of availability. Spotify was unable to keep up with its rival’s streaming figures for the album, despite Apple Music having around 120 million fewer subscribers than Spotify, suggesting Apple won via stronger user engagement.
Apple Music has been a major contributor to the continued growth of Apple’s services category, which brought in $9.1 billion revenue in the second fiscal quarter of 2018, an increase of 31 percent on a year-over-year basis. Other service-related revenue includes App Store and iTunes Store sales, paid iCloud storage, licensing, and more.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and Digital Music News