The Wall Street Journal says Apple Music now has more paying users than Spotify, citing "people familiar with the matter."
In the United States, as of February 2019, 28 million users tune in to the music streaming platform as opposed to just 26 million on Spotify.
The same sources also claim that Apple Music is growing more rapidly in the United States, apparently at a rate of about 2.6 to 3 percent, whereas Spotify is allegedly growing at only 1.5 to 2 percent.
Apple Music vs Spotify
There's much to conquer before Apple is proclaimed the king of streaming services, however. Those numbers don't represent regional subscribers, for one, where Spotify currently dominates. The figures do show that, at least in the United States, more people are embracing Apple Music over its Swedish competitor.
With 207 million daily active users globally, Spotify remains the top dog of music streaming. Moreover, 96 million of those users are paid subscribers, some are currently in a free trial that might lead to a subscription.
Unlike Spotify, Apple Music doesn't offer a free, ad-supported option, and Apple seems to have no plans to include it anytime soon. Globally, the service has attracted 50 million paying users, which means more than half come from the United States.
Apple Going Big On Streaming
As Ars Technica notes, Apple Music's growth doesn't spell incredible revenue gains for the company. It's especially true when one compares Apple Music to Apple's other money-makers, such as the iPhone. Even still, Apple is clearly pivoting to streaming as its next focal point.
Lately, Apple has shifted its gears to creating and offering more services, presumably to offset sluggish iPhone sales. Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade, its video-on-demand and Netflix-for-games services, respectively, will soon join Apple Music as part of the company's streaming lineup when they roll out sometime later this year. Apple already launched News+, dubbed as a Netflix for newspapers, magazines, and other publications.
