Apple Music: Service Hits 13m

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple Music has gained 2 million subscribers since February, surpassing 13 million this month, and is on track to top 20m by the end of the year.

In an earnings call reported by Music Business Worldwide Cook commented: “Apple Music continues to grow in popularity, with over 13 million paying subscribers today”.

Cook continued: “We feel really great about the early success of Apple’s first subscription business, and our music revenue has now hit an inflection point after many quarters of decline”.

The streaming service is growing at the rate of a million paying subscribers per month, the same rate as Spotify– adding credence to the Coke / Pepsi theory that there will actually be space for at least two major streaming services. Spotify is currently at 30m paying subscribers worldwide.

However, the windowing continues, with exclusive new albums from Coldplay, The 1975, Gwen Stefani and the recent Future and Drake mixtape all debuting on Apple Music and held from Spotify for a period of time following release.

According to the IFPI’s Global Music Report 2016, an estimated 68m people paid for a music subscription worldwide last year, an increase from 41m in 2014.

In less predictable news, Apple is also making a move into the live promotion game, sponsoring Drake (pictured) and Future’s ‘Summer Sixteens’ tour. Apple will sponsor the 32 dates across North America and Canada, presumably providing financial support and marketing. It was rumoured that Drake had signed a $19m deal with Apple Music before its launch in June last year, tying him into a series of exclusive commitments. The star’s new album ‘Views From the 6’ will be released as a week long Apple Music exclusive this Friday (April 29), which is the same day that tickets go on sale for the shows.