Apple Music Hits 20 Million Subscriber Mark

Apple Inc. AAPL's Apple Music said it officially has more than 20 million paying subscribers, just three months after it crossed 17 million subscribers and just 17 months after its launch, according to a report on Music Business Worldwide.

Rival Spotify surpassed 40 million subscribers in September. But, Apple may say that, after launching in 2008, it took Spotify seven years — until Summer 2015 — to reach 20 million subscribers. Of course, Spotify doesn’t sell phones like Apple does. The iPhone’s large installed base is one of the key factor for Apple Music subscriptions.

Nevertheless, the increasing subscriber numbers is positive for the industry, which counted just 41 million paying subscribers in 2014.