Apple may need to really ramp up its marketing efforts to interest more of its users in Apple Music. A new MarketWatch study shows that 77% of Apple’s iOS users in the United States are aware of Apple Music, but just 10% saying they are currently using it. That level is about the same for iTunes users.
Among users of iTunes Radio, Apple Music is now being used by 18%. The study measured trial, awareness and use of Apple Music across a representative sample of U.S. consumers.
Depending on your perspective, the stats either show room for growth or a surprising lack of interest among Apple users. Even more troubling for Apple is that among people who tried Apple Music, 48% reported they are not currently using the service. 11 million have tried Apple Music thus far, according to Apple.
More than one quarter (28 percent) of Spotify Premium customers also use Apple Music, but the draw from popular ad-supported services is more modest: Just 11 percent of Spotify Free users, and 6 percent of Pandora users, now use Apple’s offering.
“40% of iOS users are buying digital downloads from iTunes, suggesting trial of Apple Music could be higher,” said Russ Crupnick, managing partner of MusicWatch. “That’s the disadvantage of not being the first mover in a market where very good services currently exist.”
There are no streaming wars.
While its easy to use the term “streaming wars” to characterize the music industry, very few Apple Music users said they had stopped using their online radio, audio on-demand or video streaming services, as a result of using Apple Music.
More than 28% of Spotify Premium customers also use Apple Music, but the draw from popular free ad-supported services is more modest: 11% of Spotify Free users, and 6% of Pandora users, now use Apple’s offering.
How Many Apple Music Users Will Pay?
64% of current users said that they were extremely or very likely to pay to subscribe to Apple Music after their free trials end. On the other hand, 61% reported that they had already turned off the auto-renewal option in their iTunes account settings.
The most popular feature on Apple Music is its “My Music” functionality, which allows listeners to manage music and create playlists. Beats 1 is being used by 30% of Apple Music streamers, while 27% are using Connect.
Methodology
The data referenced in this press release is from the MusicWatch 2Q Report, which was released in August 2015. MusicWatch surveyed 5,000 U.S. consumers, age 13 and older; results were weighted to the U.S. population.
