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WSJ: Apple Music Has Overtaken Spotify in U.S. Paid Subscribers

outskirtsofinfinity said:
I'm sure it has, but the fact that they would even think of launching the service before the technology "was there" is outrageous. Apple waited until the right time.

This is neither here nor there, I know.
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but they didn't release anything before the technology "was there"

Technology is a constantly evolving thing. When they launched back in 08, they were fairly advanced beyond what already existed. it's a bit weird looking back historically at an 11 year old launch and complaining that 11 years ago technology doesn't live up to today's expectations.

well.. No Duh? that's why such comparison is ridiculous. It's like comparing the iPhone of today to the iPhone of 2007 and saying "well, it wasn't ready because it's not up to today's standards"
 
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archer75 said:
FYI, apple music has an equalizer, if you didn't know. Most people don't.
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Yes sir, the MacOS and Win10 OS equalizer for the desktop is very nice but for iOS only allows for presets. With that said there is no equalizer on the Spotify desktop so I have to use a third party app "Equalify" to accomplish the task. All in all I would be happy with either service but Spotify does have an app for my fleet of Kindle Fire's which Apple Music does not.
 
FSMBP said:
Don't care what anyone says...When iPhones come with Apple Music preloaded, and the Music app/iTunes bombards you with Apple Music ads, it isn't a level playing ground.

Even diehard Apple fans shouldn't be happy - fair competition is good for consumers.
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Spotify does the same. Spotify is pre-installed on the Galaxy s10, plus a free six months premium subscription.
 
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LordVic said:
but they didn't release anything before the technology "was there"

Technology is a constantly evolving thing. When they launched back in 08, they were fairly advanced beyond what already existed. it's a bit weird looking back historically at an 11 year old launch and complaining that 11 years ago technology doesn't live up to today's expectations.

well.. No Duh? that's why such comparison is ridiculous. It's like comparing the iPhone of today to the iPhone of 2007 and saying "well, it wasn't ready because it's not up to today's standards"
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But, the iPhone of 2007 gave me a good impression, a good feeling, you know? Spotify in 2009 just gave me an icky feeling (I'm real picky on audio quality) and I stayed away from "online music" for the next 6-7 years. Anyway, your point is well taken.
 
To all of those who can't decide whether Spotify is best or Apple Music is best ... why don't you try out Deezer? It seems like a silent, yet very competitive player in the market.

Largest library, 53M songs
Availability in 180 countries
Has a family plan
Yearly plan with discount
Has a lossless Hi-Fi plan for devices
You can upload your own music and stream across your devices
Curated playlists
etc.

It's like Apple Music, but better, without the forced rap and Top40 suggestions :D
 
cmaier said:
Who says spotify is entitled to a level playing ground?

Why is this competition not "fair?" Nobody is stopping spotify from building their own phone with its own app store and own built-in apps.
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The EU will have something to say about it, it wouldn't be the first time they hit a company for unfair practices (look at Microsoft or Google). Having a platform doesn't authorise you to bully the others and saying "if you want to make your rules build your own platform". It might be acceptable in the States but it's really not in Europe, and fees can be up to 10% of the year revenue, so Apple should be careful.
 
I have AM, but I am getting tired of being bombarded with rap/hip-hop suggestions. I listen to it now and then, and yet those are the main suggestions I keep getting. Even the ones I dislike keep coming up.

A few questions to Spotify users:
1) How is the suggestions algorithm of Spotify when it comes to non rap music?
2) Does it have "Current Top 100 (or whatever number)" for different countries? And do those top songs actually reflect the music played a lot in those countries?

Thank you.
 
I like Spotify for it's dark interface and the Discover Weekly provides great new tracks based upon your previous listening. I was and still am blown away by how relevant the music is to my tastes.

Can anyone attest to Apple Music's algorithms for finding new music? It seemed lacking last time I tried it.

One thing I know Apple Music has that Spotify doesn't is the ability to have music on the Apple Watch without the iPhone nearby. Spotify also doesn't support multitasking on the iPad.
 
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iBreatheApple said:
And I don’t know why, because Spotify is tenfold better than Apple Music - the curation, the playlists, the UI, the music discovery algorithms, everything. And I’m an Apple fanboy.
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Because it’s not better, at least not to everyone and definitely not enough better to use another app.
 
willyx said:
Predatory iOs/App Store practices might have a lot to do with his. iOS devices are a huge selling channel and Apple has a lot of mechanism to bully every app they want to compete with until they kill this sales channel for them. They are begging to be investigated for monopolistic practices, as certain Senator has pointed out.
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Yeah no thanks. I like my secure orchard with all my trees talking to each other.

And that asinine proposal is exactly why I can't take Warren seriously anymore.
 
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HacKage said:
Note that this is in the US only, where Apple is far more popular compared with many Android handsets. Compare the figures in Europe and I imagine the numbers would be totally different.
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It doesn’t need to be “noted”.
It literally says United States in the first sentence.

DotCom2 said:
EXACTLY!
One can make numbers mean anything. This is US only...NOT world wide.
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The meaning is clear.
The numbers are US.
Article doesn’t say World Wide.

Did either of you even read the title, first sentence, or first paragraph?

MacRumors said:
Apple Music has surpassed Spotify's paid subscriber count in the United States, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke with The Wall Street Journal. The shift reportedly happened earlier in 2019; Apple had more than 28 million U.S. subscribers in February compared to Spotify's 26 million paid U.S. subscribers. ...snip
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tegranjeet said:
Can anyone attest to Apple Music's algorithms for finding new music? It seemed lacking last time I tried it.

One thing I know Apple Music has that Spotify doesn't is the ability to have music on the Apple Watch without the iPhone nearby. Spotify also doesn't support multitasking on the iPad.
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It improves constantly. For me it's finally on par with spotify whereas 6 months ago it wasn't.
 
My beef with Apple Music is the time it takes for a song to start playing. There's a 1/4 second delay every time you click play. With Spotify, songs start playing instantly. It's a small difference, but it's really really noticeable when you're used to it.
 
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GenesisST said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is iTunes Match, not Apple Music. I also use that, and am not an Apple Music subscriber.

In the end, it is about personal preference. Others choice of music subscription, phone, OS, etc does not affect me.
I don't know why people take it to heart so much...
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iTunes Match capabilities are built into Apple Music.
 
Baymowe335 said:
Because it’s not better, at least not to everyone and definitely not enough better to use another app.
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I really don't understand the people in this thread claiming Apple Music is on par with Spotify for the quality of curated, personalised and generated playlists. It's not even close. And it's pretty well known that Apple has problems with machine learning technologies. Siri is dumb as a rock, Apple Music playlists and recommendations are all over the place and Apple is writing blank cheques left and right to sign up the best machine learning talent.
 
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Swazaloo said:
My beef with Apple Music is the time it takes for a song to start playing. There's a 1/4 second delay every time you click play. With Spotify, songs start playing instantly. It's a small difference, but it's really really noticeable when you're used to it.
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Doesn't have this problem.
 
Lord of the Pies said:
I really don't understand the people in this thread claiming Apple Music is on par with Spotify for the quality of curated, personalised and generated playlists.
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This, it's the reason I have stuck with Spotify. I never even look for specific tracks on Spotify anymore they just give me playlists that I like whether at home or the gym. Apple music? Nope, I was having to create my own playlists.
 
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