Apple Music to overtake Spotify in US

San Francisco Feb 5 (IANS) With 36 million paid subscribers Apple Music is set to overtake its rival Spotify music streaming services in the US with a growth rate of five per cent a month versus Spotify s two per cent.

"Apple Inc. s streaming-music service introduced in June 2015 has been adding subscribers in the US more rapidly than its older Swedish rival " The Wall Street Journal reported late on Sunday.

The US is the largest market for music streaming with 30 million paying subscribers and Apple s growth there means that it is becoming a serious challenger to Spotify.

"The Cupertino-based giant s growth has been fuelled in part by its devices in the hands of consumers and with the release of its $349 "HomePod" smart speaker system slated next week it will have another outlet through which customers can listen " the report added.

However Spotify is a global leader when it comes to music streaming. Earlier this year the company had announced that it had 70 million paying subscribers.

The company s influence is considerably stronger in other parts of the world where Android devices have a clear majority and the service itself has been around for longer according to Engadget.

--IANS
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