Good news for Apple Music. Cloud music services such as Apple’s streaming service is set to grow and grow and grow, according to new data from Research and Markets.
The “cloud” has revolutionized the music industry and the way digital music is being consumed. Owing to its growing penetration and coverage, the mobile phone has mostly become the device of choice for enabling cloud-based music services. According to the IFPI Global Music Report 2018, the total streaming revenues grew by 41.1% and it became the single largest revenue source. In 2017, there were 176 million users of paid subscription accounts globally, with 64 million having been added during the year.
In 2017, revenue generated from paid streaming also increased, reaching $1.49 billion as compared to #995 million in 2016. The consistent growth of services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon’s streaming services are positively impacting the growth of paid subscriptions, says Research and Markets.
The research group says that companies are also entering into strategic mergers and acquisitions to gain a competitive edge. For instance, in 2018, Apple acquired Shazam, one of the most popular music apps, used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The company also announced that the app will become ad-free for all users, even for those on Android.
