Spotify Reaches 113 Million Paying Subscribers, Says It's Growing Twice as Fast as Apple Music

[MacRumors]

Spotify today announced that its streaming music service has reached 113 million paying subscribers as of September 30, up from 108 million as of June 30. Spotify's monthly active user count also increased to 248 million through September, inclusive of users listening to its free, ad-supported tier.

In a letter to shareholders, part of its third quarter earnings results, Spotify said that publicly available data indicates that it is adding roughly twice as many subscribers per month as Apple Music:

We continue to feel very good about our competitive position in the market. Relative to Apple, the publicly available data shows that we are adding roughly twice as many subscribers per month as they are. Additionally, we believe that our monthly engagement is roughly 2x as high and our churn is at half the rate.

Apple Music had 60 million paying subscribers as of late June, according to Apple's services chief Eddy Cue. Spotify has remained nearly twice as large as Apple Music in terms of paying subscribers over the last year.

Article Link: Spotify Reaches 113 Million Paying Subscribers, Says It's Growing Twice as Fast as Apple Music

 

[where is it]

Not surprised. Spotify has an uncanny ability to push music that you might actually want to listen to more often than not. Other services, like Apple Music you either get stuck listening to popular music or end up hunting fruitlessly for new music.

 

[DNichter]

Nothing wrong with competition as it will continue to push Apple. My only concern with Spotify is how long they will last, considering they don't make any money and are trying to renegotiate a deal currently to pay artists even less. Feels like it is just a matter of time.

 

[haruhiko]

Competition is good. Hopefully Spotify can survive. Their music suggestion is good.

 

[sugargliderdude]

not sure Apple are wanting to beat Spotify, Apple are just wanting a piece of the pie etc...

 

[itsmilo]

Main reason I have not switched to AM is that god awful white on pink Interface and I prefer the playlists on Spotify. Also Spotify Connect to control the music on a different device without pausing whatever you do on the controlling device is awesome.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Nothing wrong with competition as it will continue to push Apple. My only concern with Spotify is how long they will last, considering they don't make any money and are trying to renegotiate a deal currently to pay artists even less. Feels like it is just a matter of time.

So they're even trashier than I had initially known. That's comforting. /s

Hopefully they go under sooner rather than later.

 

[xalea]

For one thing Spotify's interface is much better. Even after all this time using the new Apple Music UI I still don't always know where stuff is, or when to flick down the "cards" etc. Also, Spotify's PC app caters to a much larger clientele.

 

[jjhny]

Apple Music is too restrictive. I understand Apple's business model. But I have my own 'listening model' - and unfortunately my model is more important than theirs.

And what I want wins over what Apple wants to offer. As it should.

 

[azentropy]

I'm not a big music person so don't plan on getting any subscription, but if I was I'd go with Spotify over Apple Music simply because it is supported on both my vehicles and Apple Music is not.

 

[JimmyBanks6]

not sure Apple are wanting to beat Spotify, Apple are just wanting a piece of the pie etc...

Yeah just like Apple isn’t interested in raising iPhone and Mac prices, they just want to sell enough devices to be relevant in the computer and phone market /s

Only a person with no understanding of how a public business runs would make your claim.

 

[surfguy]

I'm not a big music person so don't plan on getting any subscription, but if I was I'd go with Spotify over Apple Music simply because it is supported on both my vehicles and Apple Music is not.

thats weird, i thought Apple music is present everywhere spotify is, given that it is supported on both android auto and apple carplay.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

Congrats Spotify. I use Apple Music but I'm happy to see their success.

 

[fmcshan]

I enjoyed Spotify for quite some time, but I had switched over to Apple Music back in 2015 and haven’t gone back. I find that Apple Music does suggest music that I enjoy, and I also enjoy listening to radio such as Beats1. Many people I know opt for the free, ad-supported version of Spotify, however.

 

[zorox]

as long as spotify refuses to implement 2FA I won't use their services

 

[WannaGoMac]

Not surprised. Spotify has an uncanny ability to push music that you might actually want to listen to more often than not. Other services, like Apple Music you either get stuck listening to popular music or end up hunting fruitlessly for new music.

Competition is good. Hopefully Spotify can survive. Their music suggestion is good.

is it better than pandora? I’ve understood pandora was the best at suggestions and tuning to your likes and dislikes

 

[FelixDerKater]

The future is an aggregation service that pulls from multiple streaming services.

 

[Baymowe335]

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Music is Spotify’s entire business. Apple managed to become a major competitor with music being a hobby.

Long term, Spotify will have to figure out how to be profitable as they will continue to get squeezed.

 

[timber]

I'm not a big music person so don't plan on getting any subscription, but if I was I'd go with Spotify over Apple Music simply because it is supported on both my vehicles and Apple Music is not.

Exactly my situation. Also I feel that most of the music is care to listen was already made and I already bought it.
Regarding services Spotify is simply more ubiquitous. Apple Music is still perceived as the service for people that only own Apple stuff.

 

[Grey Area]

Main reason I have not switched to AM is that god awful white on pink Interface and I prefer the playlists on Spotify. Also Spotify Connect to control the music on a different device without pausing whatever you do on the controlling device is awesome.

Dark mode has fixed the first problem, but I still prefer Spotify overall.

 

[imlynxy]

Apple music is more complicated for me and the only advantage it can play on my watch only in gym and on my bike.
Spotify has better suggestions and way better app navigation.

 

[triangletechie]

I find Spotify repeats songs way too often when I used it. I switched to Pandora and greatly prefer it.

I'd use Apple Music more if their stations allowed you to thumb up or down to improve the playlist.

 

[Herrpod]

Happy to see the better service winning.

 

[barkomatic]

I've got both--though I only pay for Spotify since Apple Music is included in my wireless bill now. It seems like the sound quality on Apple Music is better--at least on the headphones I use.

However, Spotify seems to be better at suggesting new music that I like, whereas I have to work harder to do the same on Apple music. What I end up doing is searching for new music on Spotify and then bringing it over to Apple Music where it sounds better.

 

[heov]

not sure Apple are wanting to beat Spotify, Apple are just wanting a piece of the pie etc...

Apple is it's shareholders. It's shareholders want the whole pie. If that's not the end goal, us shareholders will replace Tim Cook. That's how Apple works. Their practices, aggressive deals and advertising indicate Apple wants to be the premier music service, which is great.