Apple Music’s doubled its subscriber numbers in less than a year
The number of people subscribing to Apple Music has doubled in just under a year.
The tech company now boasts 20m music listeners signed up to its streaming service, according to Apple executive Eddy Cue.
That's an additional three million since September when it last shared figures and 10m more than in January.
Cue told Billboard magazine that the majority of users are ditching iTunes for the service, with 60 per cent of Apple Music subscribers choosing not to buy downloads in the past year. He also revealed that half of subscribers are outside the US.
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Apple launched Apple Music in June last year to take on the likes of Spotify.
That rivalry brings the two closer with the latest numbers from Apple – Spotify has 40m paying subscribers, based on figures from September. The European startup which is widely credited with bringing streaming to the mainstream is widely expected to start pursuing an IPO and said that it could be profitable as soon as next year.
Amazon has also launched itself into the music streaming market with Amazon Unlimited debuting last month.
Apple Music Vs Spotify Vs Amazon Music Vs Deezer Vs Tidal
| Service | Standard price | Other price | Other price | Other price |
| Amazon Music Unlimited | £9.99 | £7.99 (Prime member) | £79 (per year Prime member) | £3.99 (Echo only) |
| Apple Music | £9.99 | £14.99 (family) | £4.99 (student) | – |
| Spotify | £9.99 | £14.99 (family) | £4.99 (student) | – |
| Deezer | £9.99 | £14.99 (family) | – | – |
| Tidal | £9.99 | £19.99 (HiFi high quality) | – | – |