Apple Music has passed 50 million subscribers this month, CEO Tim Cook has revealed.
However, the figure includes 8m users on free trials. Paid subscribers increased by 2m compared to a month earlier, which maintains the steady monthly growth rate in users for Apple’s music streaming service in 2018.
While Apple Music lags behind Spotify, it is increasing its subscriber base at a faster rate. During its recent Q1 results, Spotify revealed it had finished Q1 with 75m premium subscribers – up 4m over three months since the end of 2017. Apple Music has added 2m users a month this year and was reportedly on the verge of overtaking the Swedish rival in the US.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek recently suggested there is room for “multiple services” in music streaming – and he was optimistic about drawing in new premium users from the revamped free Spotify service.
Cook revealed the latest figures for the tech giant’s subscription service during an interview with Bloomberg TV.
The chief executive also said that Apple will make a bigger push into streaming video and original TV shows and films.
“We are very interested in the content business,” said Cook. “We will be playing in a way that is consistent with our brand. We’re not ready to give any details on it yet. But it’s clearly an area of interest.”
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