Apple Music signs up 6.5 mln paying subscribers

Apple said it has 15 million users on its streaming-music service launched this summer. Speaking at the WSJDLive conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company had 6.5 million paying customers for Apple Music and 8.5 million customers on free, three-month trials. After the trial period, users pay USD 9.99 a month for individual subscriptions or USD 14.99 for families. The first batch of customers came off the trial period at the end of September. In August, Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue, who is overseeing the roll-out of Apple Music, said it had 11 million people on the trial version of the service. By comparison, Spotify has 75 million active users and 20 million paying subscribers. 

Cook also said that the new version of Apple TV will start shipping at the end of next week. The company will start accepting orders for its new video box on 26 October. This is in line with the original announcement for a launch in late October.

The interview also covered the automobile industry, where Cook said he sees a “massive change” coming as major technologies shift the sector away from today’s combustion-engine focus. He said he sees software, electrification and autonomous driving technologies playing a crucial role in the cars of the future. “That industry is at an inflection point for massive change, not just evolutionary change,” he said. The CEO declined to address Apple’s interest in building an electric car. In the short run, Cook said Apple is focused on improving the information and entertainment system in cars through its CarPlay service.