Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Apple Music Now Has 60 Million Paid Subscribers
Apple Music has 60 million paid subscribers, according to iTunes chief Eddy Cue. Cue confirmed the new subscriber number with French site Numerama earlier today, and Music Business Worldwide shared details on the report.
Cue said that he's happy with Apple Music's subscriber count, and that the company is continually working on perfecting the platform across various devices. He also said that Beats 1, Apple's radio station, has "tens of millions of listeners."
Cue declined to divulge how many subscribers are outside of the Apple ecosystem. "I know the number, but I can't tell you," said Cue. He did, however, tell Numerama that Apple Music is the number one service used by people in the Apple ecosystem.
On the topic of the elimination of iTunes in favor of standalone TV, Music, and Podcast apps, Cue said that he's fond of iTunes, but "Apple Music is absolutely the best in all respects. We have something better now and it's useless to look back."
Apple Music's new 60 million subscriber milestone comes following a November report suggesting the service was up to 56 million subscribers. 60 million paid subscribers still puts Apple Music below Spotify, which had 100 million premium (aka paid) subscribers worldwide as of April.
Despite the difference in paid subscriber counts, Apple Music in early 2019 surpassed Spotify's paid subscriber total in the United States. Apple Music has somewhere around 28 million U.S. subscribers, compared to Spotify's 26 million.
Cue said that he's happy with Apple Music's subscriber count, and that the company is continually working on perfecting the platform across various devices. He also said that Beats 1, Apple's radio station, has "tens of millions of listeners."
Cue declined to divulge how many subscribers are outside of the Apple ecosystem. "I know the number, but I can't tell you," said Cue. He did, however, tell Numerama that Apple Music is the number one service used by people in the Apple ecosystem.
On the topic of the elimination of iTunes in favor of standalone TV, Music, and Podcast apps, Cue said that he's fond of iTunes, but "Apple Music is absolutely the best in all respects. We have something better now and it's useless to look back."
Apple Music's new 60 million subscriber milestone comes following a November report suggesting the service was up to 56 million subscribers. 60 million paid subscribers still puts Apple Music below Spotify, which had 100 million premium (aka paid) subscribers worldwide as of April.
Despite the difference in paid subscriber counts, Apple Music in early 2019 surpassed Spotify's paid subscriber total in the United States. Apple Music has somewhere around 28 million U.S. subscribers, compared to Spotify's 26 million.
Tag: Apple Music Guide
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8 weeks ago
Agree 100%
Why pay for Music when you're able to listen to it for free, there are so many stations out there, especially on the internet.
Because you can't listen to a specific song or album with radio. Why would I sit there and listen to randomly generated songs when I can listen to exactly what I want to listen to? Radio is fine for background noise, but paying 10 bucks a month to listen to exactly what I want to hear when I want to hear it is well worth the minimal cost.
8 weeks ago
That $3B acquisition of Beats is now looking like a bargain huh?
$600M per month in recurring revenue in the music streaming business and Beats’ hardware division is worth $1B on its own.
Edited for correction
$600M per month in recurring revenue in the music streaming business and Beats’ hardware division is worth $1B on its own.
Edited for correction
8 weeks ago
I've returned to Apple Music and I have to say it is improving. It's been a slow burner, like Apple Maps, but it is getting there.
I now prefer the interface over Spotify. It feels more Apple-like to move about (for obvious reasons), and the Watch integration is much better. Spotify still has much better recommendation playlists and algorithms, but Apple Music is getting there.
I now prefer the interface over Spotify. It feels more Apple-like to move about (for obvious reasons), and the Watch integration is much better. Spotify still has much better recommendation playlists and algorithms, but Apple Music is getting there.
8 weeks ago
Where could that numbers have been with a smoother start? I still didn’t return. Nice turnaround though.
So you have HomePods but not AppleMusic? Man, you’re really missing out.
8 weeks ago
Last I checked, the iTunes Store still had music that wasn't on Apple Music. So I take Eddy Cue's claim that Apple Music is superior, like just about everything else the man has said and done, as being totally bunk.
8 weeks ago
“the company is continually working on perfecting the platform...”
Well if it was perfect, then you wouldn’t need to improve it.
But semantics aside, the UI is quite bad, and the features still need a lot of work. Example, the now playing bar at the bottom is so indistinguishable from the rest of interface, I still have trouble seeing it down there, even though I know that’s where it is. And for features, the user-created Radio stations still repeat like a mofo. Why can’t it continually dig deep into the library and serve up new songs and severely limit repetition?
Overall, the Ui has had 20 years of “perfecting” but it’s further now than its ever been.
Well if it was perfect, then you wouldn’t need to improve it.
But semantics aside, the UI is quite bad, and the features still need a lot of work. Example, the now playing bar at the bottom is so indistinguishable from the rest of interface, I still have trouble seeing it down there, even though I know that’s where it is. And for features, the user-created Radio stations still repeat like a mofo. Why can’t it continually dig deep into the library and serve up new songs and severely limit repetition?
Overall, the Ui has had 20 years of “perfecting” but it’s further now than its ever been.
8 weeks ago
Last I checked, the iTunes Store still had music that wasn't on Apple Music. So I take Eddy Cue's claim that Apple Music is superior, like just about everything else the man has said and done, as being totally bunk.
That's a problem with any subscription service (same for Netflix, etc.). Stuff comes and goes, depending on where you live and what arrangements Apple makes with various license holders. Maybe my tastes in music are odd, but it seems too often when I go looking for something, it isn't there. Or, maybe the album is, but a particular track is missing. I guess I've decided I'd just rather get what I want... and can listen to one of a zillion internet radio stations if I just want a mix of 'stuff.'
8 weeks ago
Can’t use it for such shallow reasons as the pinkish font on a white background being totally off putting alone
I have truly never seen that. Black font on white background, white font on black in dark mode. So maybe it is a shallow reason
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I'll stick with Spotify.
tried Spotify, back to Apple Music for me. I guess that explains why competition is better, serves diverse tastes.
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