Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Climb App Revenue Charts as Customers Sign Up Via In-App Subscriptions - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Climb App Revenue Charts as Customers Sign Up Via In-App Subscriptions

In a first for streaming music, Pandora, Spotify and Apple's Beats Music are among the leaders in App Store revenue as customers increasingly subscribe to the services using in-app purchases. According to data provided by App Annie and published by Billboard, the music services were among the top ten revenue generators for all non-game applications in the iOS App Store during the month of August.

pandora_feb14_update
Internet radio service Pandora lead the trio, maintaining its number 2 spot in iOS App Store revenue. Spotify climbed seven spots from number 14 in July to number 7 in August, while Apple's Beats Music moved up two spots to slide into the top ten at the number 9 slot.

All three services offer free apps that allow customers to purchase a subscription using an in-app subscription option. Pandora offers access to its paid Pandora One plan ($4.99 monthly), while Spotify allows users to pay $12.99 a month for its ad-free, offline premium subscription. Beats Music provides two options, allowing users to choose between $9.99 monthly access or a yearly subscription for $99.

Apple introduced in-app subscriptions a few years ago to iOS 6. As part of the App Store payment process, the company takes a 30 percent share of all in-app subscription revenue.

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Gradient 16x9 1

Apple Just Made an Extremely Rare Product Announcement

Thursday August 27, 2026 7:58 am PDT by
The new Mac mini and Mac Studio models unveiled by Apple this week are the company's first new Macs announced in August since 2020. It is extremely rare for Apple to announce new products of any kind in August, excluding smaller things like new color options and accessories. As mentioned, Apple's last notable August product announcement was in 2020, when it updated the 27-inch iMac and a...
Surprise and Shine Feature

Apple Event Announced for September 9: 'Surprise and Shine'

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:02 am PDT by
Apple plans to hold its annual iPhone-centric event on Wednesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with select members of the media invited to attend. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The September 2026 iPhone event will see Apple announce the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the ...
Apple Surprise Shine

Apple Event: Six New Products to Expect on September 9

Thursday August 27, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple has announced that it will be holding an event on Wednesday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company widely expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, its first-ever foldable iPhone, and more. Other products expected to be announced at the event include an Apple Watch Series 12 with a ceramic case option, an Apple Watch Ultra 4, AirPods 5 with and without...

Top Rated Comments

156 months ago
It looks like paying with your fingerprint is a lot more impulsive than having to type in one's credit card information. :D #applepay

Hashtags don't work on the forum.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
luckydcxx Avatar
156 months ago
Everyone please try Beats music. It has a 2 week free trial, it is amazing!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phillipduran Avatar
156 months ago
Everyone please try Beats music. It has a 2 week free trial, it is amazing!

Hi Tim!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santabean2000 Avatar
156 months ago
Love Spotify. Has changed my habits forever.

[I'm sure other services are great too]

Just hope the artists can continue to afford to make great music.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T-Will Avatar
156 months ago
Everyone please try Beats music. It has a 2 week free trial, it is amazing!

Tim Cook? Dr. Dre? Is that you? :p
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deannnnn Avatar
156 months ago
Why would anyone do that when you can sign up through Spotify and pay $9.99 a month for a premium subscription? (Which I don't remember how I used to live without, for the record.)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)