For years, Spotify has been the number one service for paid subscribers who choose to listen to music that they pick themselves. While services like Pandora or YouTube bring in massive amounts of users, they don't boast as big of a paid subscription base as Spotify. Apple Music has been lagging behind Spotify for quite some time, but now, it looks like Apple has caught up.
According to a report by Digital Music News that claims the information was gathered by a "US-based, major distributor," Apple music has finally surpassed Spotify in monthly paid subscribers. Both Apple Music and Spotify have just over 20 million paid subscribers in the US, with Apple's service barely taking the lead. Apple now has the leading on-demand streaming service in the US. Sirius XM Satellite Radio, which does not offer the same on-demand music options, has over 33 million subscribers.
The report also claims that Apple Music's growth is stronger than that of any other on-demand streaming service for music. Overall, Apple Music has garnered over 45 million subscribers across the globe, with an additional 5-10 million estimated users listening with free trials. Spotify bests Apple in the global arena though, with more than 70 million paid subscribers worldwide, and about 160 million overall users.