• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechApple

How many paid for Apple Music when it was no longer free?

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 13, 2015, 7:20 AM ET

Apple was late to the music streaming business. By the time it arrived in July, services like Pandora (EMC) and Spotify were already offering tens of millions of listeners a choice of free music with ads or a paid subscription without.

Apple took a different approach. It offered customers a three-month free trial, at the end of which there was no free option, only a $9.99/month individual subscription or $14.99/month family plan.

The first free trials ended Oct. 1 and the data in the chart above offers a peek at what the early adopters are doing.

It’s from a Wristly.co survey of 1,350 Apple Watch owners, which is hardly representative of the broader market. Still, the findings are interesting:

  • More than two out of three gave Apple Music a try
  • 42% had either subscribed or planned to subscribe
  • 20% had tried Apple Music and dropped it

Drilling deeper into the data, Wristly co-founder Bernard Desarnauts found that women were twice as likely as men to say they had no interest in paying for streaming music (27% vs. 14%). That attitude, however, seemed to be on the way out. It was was five times more prevalent among baby boomers (28%) than 18-24 year olds (5%).

Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research is conducting his own Apple Music survey and is finding similar conversion rates. The chart below, which he posted in August, shows paid subscription numbers for Spotify (27%) and Pandora (5%) that are considerably lower than the 42% conversion numbers among Apple Watch owners.

466420583419

“No pun intended, but you’re comparing apples and oranges there,” says Dawson. With Spotify and Pandora (P) there’s a free option that works in perpetuity. When the 3-month trial is over at Apple Music, you’re either in for the money or out altogether, with only Beats 1 radio and your old iTunes music library.

See also: Is 11 million Apple Music subs anything to brag about?

Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple (AAPL) coverage at fortune.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.

About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

NewslettersTerm Sheet
The AI startups founders and VCs say could be acquisition targets in 2026
By Allie GarfinkleDecember 24, 2025
1 hour ago
Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner for the Internal Market, in Paris on June 13, 2025. (Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
U.S. denies visas for five Europeans, alleging American censorship
By Andrew NuscaDecember 24, 2025
2 hours ago
Man checking watch as he walks through forrest
Successchief executive officer (CEO)
CEOs reveal their New Year’s resolutions for 2026: From 8-day bike races and AI training, to finally cracking 7 hours of sleep a night
By Emma BurleighDecember 24, 2025
2 hours ago
President Donald Trump walks to the South Portico along the South Lawn at the White House on December 13, 2025 in Washington, DC
EconomyWall Street
‘Precarious’ is Wall Street’s defining word for 2026
By Eleanor PringleDecember 24, 2025
3 hours ago
AI Artificial Intelligence on a laptop with a blue abstract background
BankingFinance
In 2026, CFOs predict AI transformation, not just efficiency gains
By Sheryl EstradaDecember 24, 2025
3 hours ago
AIEye on AI
Silicon Valley’s tone-deaf take on the AI backlash will matter in 2026
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 23, 2025
17 hours ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeDecember 22, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
The average worker would need to save for 52 years to claw their way out of the middle class and be classified as wealthy, new research reveals
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 23, 2025
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
'When we got out of college, we had a job waiting for us': 80-year-old boomer says her generation left behind a different economy for her grandkids
By Mike Schneider and The Associated PressDecember 23, 2025
22 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Financial experts warn future winner of the $1.7 billion Powerball: Don't make these common money mistakes
By Ashley LutzDecember 23, 2025
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman says in 10 years' time college graduates will be working 'some completely new, exciting, super well-paid' job in space
By Preston ForeDecember 23, 2025
21 hours ago