Analytics firm Verto had quite a surprise for everyone last month when their analysis showed that Apple Music had over 10M more users than Android’s Spotify. Spotify definitely leads when it comes to subscribers, but it would appear that the reach of Apple got underestimated, even with the smaller audience. Apple clearly showed their ability to dominate once again.
The reason for this is, according to Verto’s report, is the Apple’s three-month free trial of Apple Music and other offers. This way, Apple Music came out on top in terms of unique users.
The analysis that Verto made shows that only in the US, over 40.7 million unique users chose Apple Music during this February. On second place was Pandora, at 32.6 million users, and only then came Spotify at 30.4 million unique users. The fourth and fifth place were taken by iHeartRadio and SoundCloud, but we should have in mind that these numbers only include phone users and that they would change, perhaps drastically if desktop accounts were taken into the analysis.
TechCrunch wanted to know more about these results so they asked a couple of questions, and Vetro explained that the reason for such a high results from Apple Music mostly lies in their three-month free trial. They also stated that this free trial more than doubles the amount of Apple Music users in the US.
These reports are very important for several reasons. For example, it shows that Apple’s streaming music service still has a potential for growth. It also shows us the benefits of Apple Music coming pre-installed on iOS devices.
Apple has claimed recently that their number of users is well over 20 million worldwide, but this report shows over 40 million only in the US, half of which presumably, are their trial customers. Even though Spotify came third on this list, their recent assessment stated that they have over 50 million paying subscribers around the world, and more than 100 million when paid users and free trial users are combined. However, Apple still managed to outperform when it comes to the number of their active users in the US.
These reports are also of great importance to artists. They are always looking for the best platform to go to with their newest content, and the Verto report shows that the Apple’s reach is currently the broadest. Even though they might have taken a lead because of the free trial users, they still pay artists during those three months.
Information like this is important, for it highlights how Apple’s user base gives it an automatic advantage over its competitors.
