Apple Music takes over Spotify in the US market
What's the story
According to reports, Apple Music now has more subscribers than Spotify in the US market.
While Apple Music still lags behind Spotify in the total number of users, taking the lead in the world's biggest market for recorded music is a big deal.
Notably, both the music services have over 20 million paying subscribers in the US, but Apple Music is now "a hair ahead."
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Spotify still leads outside of the US
Overall, Spotify has 75 million paying members and roughly 23 million of its subscribers are in North America. On the other hand, Apple Music reportedly has 40 million total subscribers, CEO Tim Cook said.
Details
Apple Music has advantage in US due to iPhone popularity
Even though Spotify remains the biggest streaming service overall, Apple Music has been benefiting in the US primarily due to the popularity of the iPhone, which is used in America in a much higher capacity than the rest of the world.
Apple Music and Spotify are cumulatively leading the race to dominate subscription music, as users shift to streaming, instead of downloading, music.
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Not a welcome news for Spotify's investors
Notably, Spotify filed to go public in the US in April. Considering this, Apple Music's overtake in the US is not great news for the streaming service, as its primary competition has managed to surpass what was once a massive lead.