“As if Apple needed the money, Tim Cook is about to add yet another billion-dollar business to the company’s war chest,” David Goldman reports for CNN.
“Apple Music now has 15 million subscribers, Cook announced at a Wall Street Journal technology conference in Laguna Beach, California, on Monday evening,” Goldman reports. “Of those 15 million, 6.5 million are paying customers (the other 8.5 million are still on Apple’s free three-month trial). Subscribers pay Apple $10 a month for access to unlimited streaming music. Do the math: 6.5 million times $10 a month times 12 months in a year = $780 million. That’s not quite a billion, but Apple only needs to convert 1.8 million more of the free-trial subscribers to reach that mark.”
MacDailyNews Take: Some measure of those 6.5 million, probably more than most would guess, are paying $14.99 for the family plan, which is, by far, the best deal.
“And Apple Music, which launched in June, would join the iPhone, iPad, Mac, iTunes and Apple TV as the company’s billion dollar businesses. Apple Watch will likely reach that mark this year too,” Goldman reports. “Cook’s announcement implies that about 60% of Apple Music customers stick with the service after the free trial. Even if some people forgot to cancel the service (and will do so after they receive their first bill), it’s a very good start for Apple Music.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, are 6.5 million paying subscribers for a well-priced, full-featured, albeit UI-challenged service that launched in over 100 countries nearly four months ago really a “good start?” We expected better, so, no, we’re not impressed.
As we wrote back in August: This might be a harder sell than most, including Apple (with their rumored goal of 100 million subscribers), initially thought.