Music streaming wars: Spotify leads despite big growth by rivals
Last year, the music streaming business grew by a stunning 32% year-on-year with total subscriptions reaching 358 million, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research. Spotify continued to lead the charts by grabbing a 35% share of the total subscriptions despite big growth recorded by rivals. In 2019, Apple Music grew 36% while Amazon Prime Music recorded a 50% increase in its subscription base.
As per Counterpoint, global online music subscriptions grew by a strong 32% YoY due to the availability of exclusive content like podcasts and originals. The firm noted that promotional activities like price cuts in subscriptions and bundled offers from telcos also helped promote growth.
Last year, Spotify topped the charts by grabbing a 35% share of the total paid subscriptions. Apple Music, which grew 36% YoY, took the second spot by capturing a 19% share of the total subscriptions. Amazon Music settled for third place with its subscriptions reaching a 15% share last year, recording an impressive 50% annual growth. YouTube Music managed 6% of the total subscribers.
Talking of country-wise growth, Gaana continues to lead in the Indian market. Tencent Music Group, with popular apps like QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo, tops the Chinese market. In Russia, Yandex takes the number one spot.
Counterpoint expects online music streaming subscriptions "to grow more than 25% YoY to exceed 450 million subscriptions by the end of 2020." The market research firm also noted that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will also bring a small increase in the OTT industry as millions of users move away from music streaming to news channels and podcasts for the latest updates.
