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

[Lord of the Pies]

I have no interest in a subscription from either of them .

That's too bad. You should try a free Spotify trial and see if it's something you should have. I couldn't live without Spotify specifically. I have tried all the mainstream services and Spotify is extraordinary in its ability to provide music relevant to your tastes. I discover more in a day with Spotify than a week with Play Music or a month with Apple Music. It has a serious competitive edge in this area.

 

[Vertigo50]

Great! I'm finally ready to switch over to Apple Music even though the last time I tried it, it was a total mess.

Before I do, let's just verify:

1. They fixed the problem of horribly slow buffering, right? Oh....

2. I can now play all my streaming Apple Music on PS4 and Chromecast now, though, right? Oh....

3. Well, at least they've changed Apple Music so the recommendations aren't all hip hop, right? Oh....

Spotify it is then!

 

[DNichter]

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.

Because it's a personal opinion/preference.

 

[Vertigo50]

That's too bad. You should try a free Spotify trial and see if it's something you should have. I couldn't live without Spotify specifically. I have tried all the mainstream services and Spotify is extraordinary in its ability to provide music relevant to your tastes. I discover more in a day with Spotify than a week with Play Music or a month with Apple Music. It has a serious competitive edge in this area.

What do you do to discover new music? I like Spotify, but I feel like I keep getting the same things over and over. Specifically what parts of the app do you use to discover new stuff?

 

[archer75]

It’s interesting how many people long term Spotify costumers expect Apple Music to properly understand their musical taste before it has a few months of data

I have quit and gone back to apple music 4 times over the years. For months at a time. So for me it has tons of data. It just took that long before it could replace spotify for me.

 

[matrix07]

It’s interesting how many people long term Spotify costumers expect Apple Music to properly understand their musical taste before it has a few months of data

Exactly this. I don’t know how I listen to music that’s not relevant to my taste on Apple Music everyday. lol.

And what’s rap music? I have never found any rap music in my For You for a year at least.

 

[archer75]

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.

I was never happy with the workout playlists on spotify which was weird because their were so many of them. Went back to apple music and very first workout playlist I came across was better than anything I found on spotify.
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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.

It depends on the person. Now i'm finding apple music to easily be on par with spotify in this regard.

 

[Jakewilk]

WSJ is certainly giving apple a lot of attention these days. I feel like it’s been noticeably more cited on MR since apple news plus released

 

[mejsric]

after reading the comments, there is no Spotify fans in here, it just Apple haters.

 

[jonnyb098]

It's not quite that simple. Spotify is the top 3rd party music-only app on the app store (YouTube is higher, but not many get YouTube just for streaming music). Yet if you search the app store for "music" you get:

Apple Music
iTunes Store
Apple Music (again)
GarageBand
iTunes Remote
Music Memos
Logic Remote
Clips
iMovie
Musi
Spotify
SoundCloud
YouTube Music
Offline Music Player
Pandora

Do you honestly think Spotify shouldn't be higher in that list for a search of the term music? Or honestly, that YouTube Music and Pandora aren't higher also? If you do, then I guess we disagree.

Also, USA and European laws/regulations have a strong precedent that platform makers can't use the fact that they're the platform maker to unfairly promote their other products at the expense of others. Think Google search, Microsoft with IE, etc. Apple would be wise to heed prior examples. I suspect the Spotify complaint is going to get traction within the EU and Apple may be facing some hefty fines similar to what Google has been dealing with the past few years.

That’s a matter of perspective. You and many others may think it’s wrong for Apple to have their own apps up top. But it’s the same as Target putting their Up and Up house brand at eye level or AutoZone pushing their house brand called Duralast. It is called the App STORE after all.

I totally understand and respect your point of view on the matter but like I said....it’s Apple’s store. They can do what they want just like a retailer can. They want their product eye level....can you really blame them?

 

[Cosmosent]

The consumer will benefit BIG time from this battle in the end !

 

[kis]

Spotify won’t fail because of Apple. The world is large enough for 2-3 streaming music services (I look at you YouTube). If Spotify fails it will fail not because of Apple but because of their financial performance.

Yup and while some people may think so: the US isn’t that important anymore when it comes to services. The European market is drastically larger and Asia is in a whole other sphere.

 

[Coffee_Time]

I'm saying this: if you're an audiophile, you don't pay / subscribe to Apple's music or Spotify, you don't use an huawei, oneplus, Samsung or iPhone and you don't use air buds or galaxy buds or headphones that comes with your phone.
If you are indeed an audiophile, you USE an LG phone and at least some Sony ldac capable headphones for wireless, or a decent for wired. You also use big headphones if you're an audiophile.
Out there are:
1. Normal peoples, nothing special about them who use spotify or a. m.
2. And Audiophiles.

 

[kis]

That's still a paid customer...

Not really - pricing is largely dependent on streaming frequency

 

[kis]

Stop complaining. It's Apple's service for their ecosystem, leveraging all the gear they sold and the app store they built and maintain.

See, there you’re wrong. Apple offers a platform - and prioritizing their own services over others on a monopolized platform is an anti-trust violation.

 

[matrix07]

The consumer will benefit BIG time from this battle in the end !

Exactly! I don’t know why Spotify users will feel uneasy about it. Let think for a second. If Apple Music fail and Spotify, the company that never see a profit, get to monopolize music streaming what do you think they would do for you. I bet it’s not reduce subscription price for sure.

It must be like what @mejsric said.. there is no Spotify fans here, only Apple haters.

 

[Flipzide]

Cool. As a consumer, I made my choice and will continue to pay for Spotify, which I feel has the better service. Spend your money any way you want.

 

[Mr. Heckles]

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.

Edit: For those saying they don't recall seeing the pop-ups, you can Google iOS Apple Music pop-ups/ads to see websites/forum posts about it and turning off Apple Music in general.

Doesn't Windows Computer come pre-loaded with Edge? I also see stuff "try Edge for a better experiance" once in a while. How's the rankings with Edge Vs. Chrome?

 

[tonyr6]

Love Apple Music tried them all and I always come back to it for the most music and best sound quality. Also there is a pretty good working web player now that is always improving I use when iTunes acts up. There Android app is updated and is much more stable then in the past.

As for Spotify it's so overrated. Sound quality stinks and they are missing many albums.

 

[Mr. Heckles]

Love Apple Music tried them all and I always come back to it for the most music and best sound quality. Also there is a pretty good working web player now that is always improving I use when iTunes acts up. There Android app is updated and is much more stable then in the past.

As for Spotify it's so overrated. Sound quality stinks and they are missing many albums.

I use the Musish web player and it's not bad. I would like to see a breakdown Apple Music on Android Vs. iOS. People keep saying Apple Music has an advantage because it's re-loaded on iPhone, but aren't there more Android phones than iPhone in the US?

 

[Lord of the Pies]

What do you do to discover new music? I like Spotify, but I feel like I keep getting the same things over and over. Specifically what parts of the app do you use to discover new stuff?

The vast assortment of curated playlists, Discover Weekly (and the albums from artists there), Release Radar (and more albums from those artists), the six Daily Mixes created for you, the Discover tab in the Browse section and song radio generated for any song.

I was never happy with the workout playlists on spotify which was weird because their were so many of them. Went back to apple music and very first workout playlist I came across was better than anything I found on spotify.
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It depends on the person. Now i'm finding apple music to easily be on par with spotify in this regard.

I don't think it's that subjective. The gulf in quality between them is incredibly apparent. And AM has a distinct focus on RnB, rap, hip hop-type stuff. It infiltrates everywhere - even chill themed playlists with no apparent hip hop or electronic theme will have an abundance of hip hop beats and auto-tuned nonsense. Unless you avoid the curated playlists entirely you can't dodge it.

I fired up iTunes a few minutes ago to check out the Apple Music content. I used iTunes and AM for years (and my library is big) so Apple should have plenty of data on my listening habits.

- Can't make it more than a few songs in any of the chilled playlists. What is this garbage. All some combination of auto-tuned, hip hop, way too out there ambient, instrumental and old stuff.
- The slight lag when selecting anything and when tracks start is annoying when you're used to Spotify.
- The mixes in the For You tab are hilariously bad. The track lists have many glaring issues, but even a few cursory skips around the opening tracks are awful.
- The New Music mix is especially bad considering just earlier I wrapped up my Release Radar in Spotify. How can Spotify find 30 awesome songs for me and Apple has nothing but weird not-very-new stuff? Because Spotify knows how machine learning works.
- The Browse section of iTunes has become even more unintuitive to use. Man it's a chore finding playlists.
- The emphasis on hip hop is ridiculously strong. I lose the will to live when I hear that Chris Brown-esque s**t start to play in every conceivable playlist.

Everyone in my family has access to Apple Music through my AM Family plan (which I keep for my mom - she just listens to her uploaded stuff). No one but her uses it. AM has virtually no value in discovering great new music. We're all using either Spotify, Play Music or YouTube Music.

 

[cfurlin]

Don't care what anyone says...

Exactly! Wouldn’t want to keep an open mind on a discussion board. That would just be wrong.

 

[archer75]

I use the Musish web player and it's not bad. I would like to see a breakdown Apple Music on Android Vs. iOS. People keep saying Apple Music has an advantage because it's re-loaded on iPhone, but aren't there more Android phones than iPhone in the US?

No, there are FAR more iphones in the US than android. Android is far greater in the rest of the world due to lower cost phones in emerging markets.

 

[modul8tr]

A “monopolized platform” LOL

Positive Apple Music news so I HAD to come check out the hater meltdowns. As usual, didn’t disappoint.

Keep polishing those antitrust hard-ons, you’re helping to lower my blood pressure.

 

[SSDGUY]

I like the Spotify UI and have invested time into many shared playlists for band rehearsal material. Use whatever platform you like. Who cares? The worse thing for end users would be for Apple to overtake the market and diminish competition.