Apple Music Doubles Subscribers But Spotify Looks Like 2016 Streaming Winner
This year, Apple Music doubled its membership to 20 million paid subscribers, reports BuzzFeed News. Launched at the end of June 2015, the platform gained 10 million subscribers by January of this year.
It took Spotify, launched in October 2008, almost seven years to reach 20 million subscribers .In September, Apple Music announced it had attained 17 million paid subscribers, and Spotify soon countered those figures with an impressive 40 million paid subscribers.
From September until now, Apple Music is averaging about 1 million paid subscribers per month. Though the latest figures for Spotify came in September, the company reported to have 30 million paid subscribers in March. Between then and September, Spotify averaged 1.6 million paid subscribers per month. Thus, it appears that Spotify is winning the streaming battle this year, though confirmation will come when the platform's latest numbers are revealed.
Apple Music has looked to forge ahead of its competition with exclusive deals with top artists like Drake, Taylor Swift, and Frank Ocean. An asset of Spotify is the free streaming service it provides with ads, as users can experience the program before deciding to become paid subscribers. Both platforms have identical membership costs: $9.99/month for individuals, $14.99/month for families, and $4.99/month for students.
