Apple Music already has 6.5 million paid subscribers, or about a third of the 20 million who pay for industry rival Spotify, after only four months on the market, according to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, who spoke at a conference Monday night.
The company has 8.5 million additional customers using the service’s three-month trial subscription.
For comparison, music-streaming leader Spotify has 55 million people using its ad-supported free service, which has been around since 2008.
According to FBR &Co. analyst Daniel Ives, Apple Music, which launched at the end of June, is off to a “solid start,” and he would “characterize this initial stage of the launch as a ‘triple’ in the streaming ballgame.”
The service’s success shouldn’t come as a surprise, though. Apple Music came preinstalled on any iPhone that upgraded to iOS 8.4 and also is preinstalled on all newer iPhones sold in stores. In the first quarter of 2015, the company sold 74.5 million iPhones.
In addition to music streaming, Apple Music also offers the Beats 1 around-the-clock radio station, curated playlists and a “connect” feature that lets users follow artists, who then share with fans special content such as new songs and behind-the-scenes photos.
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