Spotify, unlike Apple Music, offers an ad-supported free membership plan. Part of its continued success comes down to its varied membership plans. Spotifyįirst introduced in Sweden in 2006, Spotify is the largest music streaming service in the world, with availability now reaching 92 countries. Things begin to separate when it comes to speaker support, curation, and extras. Both are available for a similar price for a regular membership, and they each have nearly identical catalogs. RIAA estimated the paid subscriptions in the US to rise from 20.3 million in the first half of 2016 to 61.1 million in the first half of 2019.For the average music listener, there’s not much of a difference between the top two streaming services. This has benefitted streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. The massive shift to music streaming is driven by the increase in paid subscribers. They accounted for 10% of streaming sales. Comparatively, ad-supported on-demand sales were up 25% at $427 million. RIAA estimates paid subscription sales growth at 31% YoY or $3.3 billion in the first six months of 2019. Paid subscription continues to grow at a significant rate. It was $3.4 billion in the first six months of 2018. This figure rose to $2.7 billion in the first six months of 2017. In the first six months of 2016, music streaming sales were $1.7 billion. Revenue from music streaming has steadily grown over the years. Music streaming accounted for 80% of these sales or $4.3 billion, a growth of 26% YoY (year-over-year). According to data from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), retails sales in the US amounted to $5.4 billion in the first six months of 2019.

Spotify vs apple music 2019