Digital Music News:

Apple Music has more paying subscribers in the United States than Spotify, according to confidential details shared with Digital Music News this morning.

The source, a US-based, major distributor, shared a report detailing the subscriber tallies of several streaming music services, including Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and Sirius XM. That report now ranks Apple Music as first in the United States.

And:

Both Apple Music and Spotify have more than 20 million subscribers in America, with Apple now a hair ahead.

And:

The data for 2018 also shows that Apple is experiencing a far stronger rate-of-growth in the United States, suggesting a wider lead over the coming months. Trial users were not part of the comparison.

Apple Music has been growing faster than Spotify for a while now. I can only imagine that the HomePod has added to that growth.

Overall, Apple Music scored 170 million streams of album tracks during the first week, while Spotify amassed an estimated 130 million.

The disparity strongly suggests that Apple is achieving far better user engagement, especially given Spotify’s extreme promotional push for the release. It also raises questions of just how ‘active’ Spotify’s 160 million active users are.

Apple Music, grinding away with steady advertising and the gravity of their ecosystem, slowly eating Spotify’s lunch.