Is Apple Music really a success compared to Spotify?

By: Eric Cao

This is an ongoing question that seems to not have a definite answer to it. However, recently, the Wall Street Journal pointed out data showing Apple Music is on track to surpass Spotify in having more paid-subscribers. The author, Anne Steele, says that Apple has a 5% monthly subscribers growth, whereas Spotify has 2% less. (Steele, WSJ) Plus, Apple Music has 45 million songs in its library, which is 15 million more compared to Spotify's. (Friedman, Phonearena) Apple Music seems to have and will have the edge over Spotify. However, we need to consider the experience that Apple Music's customers have while using. It is not guaranteed that every one of them has pleasure using Apple Music. For instance, Jim Dalrymple recalls his bad experience with Apple Music where has had troubles with Apple Music's function, adding songs and albums, etc. (Dalrymple, The Loop) Looking at this example, we can see that despite having a better paid-subscribers monthly growth, Apple Music still has some issues, and not all of its customers stick with it. Spotify might have less monthly growth, but the app itself might have the edge in giving its customers a pleasant experience while using. However, this is just one specific incident, and it doesn't prove that Apple Music is worse of a music streaming service than Spotify. These are just some data and examples about Apple Music that might help you decide on which music streaming service you should commit to.