Apple has signed up 11 million new users to its streaming music service since it launched at the end of June.
“We’re thrilled with the numbers so far,” Eddy Cue, who runs Apple Music alongside other Apple internet services, told USA Today.
Apple Music went live on June 30, cost £9.99 per month in the UK or £14.99 for the family plan. But for the first three months, users won’t pay anything.
Customers will be automatically switched over to the paid-for service at the end of that trial period, in October, unless they have told Apple in advance that they don’t want to opt in for auto-renewals. (Opting out of those auto-renewals is simple but not obvious.)
If all of the current members do stay on, then Apple will have half as many paying customers as Spotify, its closest rival. But Spotify has many more members on its free tier — an option that Apple Music won’t offer.
Apple Music family plan allows six different people to use one subscription, for £14.99. Of the 11 million already signed up, 2 million have chosen that option, Cue said.