Apple Music has already signed up a third as many paid subscribers as Spotify

6.5 million users bought a subscription in the first month they were available

New arrival: Apple Music offers subscribers tens of millions of tracks, plus 24/7 radio station Beats 1

Apple

20 October 2015

Apple Music has signed up 6.5 million paid users in just a month, giving it nearly a third of the number of subscribers of nine-year old rival and industry leader Spotify.

The streaming service offered a free three month trial when it launched in June, which for first users came to an end last month.

Another 8.5 million people are still participating in free trials, Apple boss Tim Cook said at an event in California.

Cook hailed the platform’s debut as a success.

"I'm really happy about it, and I think the runway here is really good," he said.

Analysts had predicted the strong take-up given the large customer base of Apple’s music store iTunes. In 2014, Cook said there were 800 million iTunes accounts.

However, Apple is not expected to overtake Spotify, which offers a free service and ad-free premium access for £9.99. It has 20 million paying subscribers.

Apple Music also costs £9.99.

Subscribers can listen to the tens of millions of tracks in its library, including those by Taylor Swift, who famously removed her songs from Spotify in a row over royalties, as well as its 24/7 radio station, Beats 1.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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