Spotify Now Has 75M Paid Subscribers, Apple Music Has 40M

[MacRumors]

Spotify this afternoon reported its first quarterly earnings since its February IPO filing, and in the report, the company revealed that it now has 75 million paid subscribers.

The 75 million number is up from the 71 million paying subscribers that Spotify reported at the end of February, and it's almost double the number of subscribers who pay for Apple Music.

Apple in April said that it had 40 million paid subscribers across 115 countries and an additional eight million people using the service through the free three-month trial.

Though it has 75 million paid subscribers, Spotify's total subscriber base is much larger at 170 million subscribers due to the free tier that it offers.

While Spotify has more paying subscribers than Apple Music, the latter service has been gaining new subscribers at a quicker rate. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal suggested Apple Music is on track to overtake Spotify in U.S. subscribers as soon as this summer because its five percent growth rate per month outpaces Spotify's two percent growth rate.

Spotify last month beefed up its free tier with on-demand playlists, song recommendations, and a new low-data mode with the hopes that a more robust free tier will convert more listeners into paid subscribers.

Spotify stock is down following its earnings release as its $1.36 billion in revenue fell short of the $1.4 billion in revenue estimated by Wall Street.

Article Link: Spotify Now Has 75M Paid Subscribers, Apple Music Has 40M

 

[826317]

Apple has to make the Android version of AM much better. It's super sluggish. Support for other devices such as PS4, smart TVs etc. would also help

 

[IGI2]

Apple has to make a Linux version, or web-based version.

Spotify is easy to use on Linux.

Try iTunes on Linux via Wine, it's a nightmare.

Moreover, they could develop and promote their iCloud.com website by adding Apple Music there.

A lot of folks would get familiar with that domain and would see other options, such as Pages or iCloud Drive.

iMessage could also have a debut there. So we would gain a handful of useful apps there: iMessage (in the Cloud), Apple Music, Apple Maps, and the rest that's already there. Apple could steal the Google's momentum for web apps. (even further by making them iCloud-hosted, using CloudKit, or even making an App Store for iCloud.com).

Finally, a simple Apple Music on the web would resolve issues with lack of the Linux support or the need to install that crappy iTunes on Windows.

 

[nburwell]

Apple has to make the Android version of AM much better. It's super sluggish. Support for other devices such as PS4, smart TVs etc. would also help

Agreed. I really can’t stand AM on my S8. I love it on all my iOS devices, but their Android app is just terrible.

 

[rom3o]

Apple has to make the Android version of AM much better. It's super sluggish. Support for other devices such as PS4, smart TVs etc. would also help

I don’t think they are very eager to expand beyond their own hardware-customer base. Right now Apple seems very focussed on people living solely in the Apple ecosystem, but that might change in the future.

 

[diddl14]

Apple has to make a Linux version, or web-based version.

Spotify is easy to use on Linux.

Try iTunes on Linux via Wine, it's a nightmare.

Moreover, they could develop and promote their iCloud.com website by adding Apple Music there.

A lot of folks would get familiar with that domain and would see other options, such as Pages or iCloud Drive.

iMessage could also have a debut there. So we would gain a handful of useful apps there: iMessage (in the Cloud), Apple Music, Apple Maps, and the rest that's already there. Apple could steal the Google's momentum for web apps. (even further by making them iCloud-hosted, using CloudKit, or even making an App Store for iCloud.com).

Finally, a simple Apple Music on the web would resolve issues with lack of the Linux support or the need to install that crappy iTunes on Windows.

LOL, now that would really boost market share for Apple...

 

[IGI2]

LOL, now that would really boost market share for Apple...

I've never installed the Spotify on Windows PC, been using just the web version. As simple as visiting FB or Gmail.

None of my friends actually installed it since the web version was quite good. Moreover you often can't install additional software on work computers since you may not have an admin password. Or admins disallow it simply.

Windows people are not so app-oriented as iOS ones.

They don't need an app for facebook, gmail, maps, since they simply google maps or translate.

Those Linux shares are also from power users who also have Windows machines or even installed Windows on the other partition.

Not having a web version is simply user-hostile no matter how you twist it.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I don’t think they are very eager to expand beyond their own hardware-customer base. Right now Apple seems very focussed on people living solely in the Apple ecosystem, but that might change in the future.

Learn from History. iPod did not actually roar until it + a version of iTunes came to Windows. Had Apple focused on Apple people then, perhaps none of what followed would have played out.

Apple's pond is much larger now- and very, very profitable- but the other pond(s) is larger still.

 

[convergent]

Love Spotify... moved away from Apple Music about a year ago. The main reason was that I wanted to use it across all my devices, and Apple Music didn't support some of them. Then after using it, I found that I like it better for discovery.

 

[-BigMac-]

Wasnt spotify on 40mill like last year? Thats not 2% growth per month

 

[Plutonius]

I'm not sure why people are concerned over what other people are using for a music service ? Use the one you want and hope that there is enough competition to keep the prices down.

 

[IGI2]

I'm not sure why people are concerned over what other people are using for a music service ? Use the one you want and hope that there is enough competition to keep the prices down.

Maybe it's a bit like with Messaging apps.

You're not using, for example, Viber (but just WhatsApp or Signal) and you cannot communicate with that person (who uses Viber).

Similarly with music services. You cannot share playlists, send direct links with each other to listen to that track.

When you have a party, and you know that remix is on Spotify and you want your friend to play it but it's non-existent on Apple Music.

Since it's all streaming you cannot send just that 7 MB file...

 

[-BigMac-]

Maybe it's a bit like with Messaging apps.

You're not using, for example, Viber (but just WhatsApp or Signal) and you cannot communicate with that person (who uses Viber).

Similarly with music services. You cannot share playlists, send direct links with each other to listen to that track.

When you have a party, and you know that remix is on Spotify and you want your friend to play it but it's non-existent on Apple Music.

Since it's all streaming you cannot send just that 7 MB file...

Spot on. Lots of friends use Spotify here in Australia.. its a pain to share songs with them.
[doublepost=1525301059][/doublepost]

Love Spotify... moved away from Apple Music about a year ago. The main reason was that I wanted to use it across all my devices, and Apple Music didn't support some of them. Then after using it, I found that I like it better for discovery.

Which devices are you using it across?

 

[autrefois]

Apple has to make a Linux version, or web-based version.

Spotify is easy to use on Linux.

Try iTunes on Linux via Wine, it's a nightmare.

Moreover, they could develop and promote their iCloud.com website by adding Apple Music there.

A lot of folks would get familiar with that domain and would see other options, such as Pages or iCloud Drive.

iMessage could also have a debut there. So we would gain a handful of useful apps there: iMessage (in the Cloud), Apple Music, Apple Maps, and the rest that's already there. Apple could steal the Google's momentum for web apps. (even further by making them iCloud-hosted, using CloudKit, or even making an App Store for iCloud.com).

Finally, a simple Apple Music on the web would resolve issues with lack of the Linux support or the need to install that crappy iTunes on Windows.

You have a better vision for Apple than Tim Cook does. Hopefully they will do this sometime soon. Everything Apple should be in one place and should actually be developed to be competitive, instead of things being fragmented and Apple just relying on people being dragged along because they use a Mac or iOS device.

 

[Superhai]

Wasnt spotify on 40mill like last year? Thats not 2% growth per month

No, one year ago they had 50, and 30 two years ago. Which should translate to just below 3% growth.

 

[Macaholic868]

I don’t think they are very eager to expand beyond their own hardware-customer base. Right now Apple seems very focussed on people living solely in the Apple ecosystem, but that might change in the future.

Agreed. They needed the Android app so they could appeal to the largest customer base possible. I think their subscriber data has shown the service appeals mostly to those already in the Apple ecosystem in some form or another so they haven’t bothered to put the necessary resources into the Android app as they have into the apps on Apple hardware or iTunes. It’ll wind up like Safari on Windows. They’ll abandon it at some point.

 

[69650]

Spotify is a million times better than Apple Music.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

Spotify has a far better related music algorithm in my experience. Spotify finds music I like in Daily Mixes. Apple Music tends to force rubbish Pop hits down my ear canals.

 

[Defthand]

After a disappointing subscription to Tidal and an unremarkable Apple Music trial, I agreed to try Spotify. I’m not a fan of compressed sound files when I listen with hifi hardware, but the offerings are fine for the car and for music discovery. I actually prefer Spotify’s discovery features and recommendations. Spotify‘s presentation somehow reminds me of the record store experience, whereas Apple Music resembles a pretentious art gallery.

 

[fairuz]

Impressive, considering how old Spotify is, how many more devices it can run on, and how much they're burning on free users.

 

[Abazigal]

Still prefer Apple Music for the ecosystem. Be it storing music on my Apple Watch, or listening to it from my Apple TV, or locating a song via Siri. It’s all these little conveniences which add up.

 

[danny842003]

I don’t think they are very eager to expand beyond their own hardware-customer base. Right now Apple seems very focussed on people living solely in the Apple ecosystem, but that might change in the future.

The problem with that attitude is the family packages.
If they don’t support other devices people might be inclined to get Spotify instead.

 

[convergent]

Still prefer Apple Music for the ecosystem. Be it storing music on my Apple Watch, or listening to it from my Apple TV, or locating a song via Siri. It’s all these little conveniences which add up.

And I basically get the same conveniences with Spotify.

 

[dnewkirk]

With their degree of success, Spotify till can't turn a profit. That's a big problem. That has to take its tole on the company eventually.

 

[bluecoast]

LOL, now that would really boost market share for Apple...

People are still using windows 8!?

Willingly?!

Or do they work for companies with sadistic IT depts?