After launching back in June 2015, Apple Music has managed to grow at an amazing rate, attracting over 20 million paid subscribers in an 18-month period. Apple Music quickly became the biggest rival to market leader Spotify – which currently has over 40 million subscribers – when it launched and is making strides to overtake the competition.
These subscribers are being treated as a completely new audience. Apple has discovered that 60% of their subscribers have not downloaded any songs from the iTunes within the last 12 months.
Apple has stated that they would like to continue tying artists to exclusive Apple Music deals as a way of adding value to their service for their paid subscribers. Over the last year, Apple Music has hosted 70 exclusive albums for subscribers, with six of those topping the US Billboard charts.
One album, Views by Drake, has even been nominated for a Grammy. This marks the first album in history to be nominated without being readily available in stores or widespread download outlets.
Who knows? After another 18 months we could see Apple Music as the undisputed champion of streaming, leaving Tidal, Deezer and Spotify in the dust.