Apple Music passes 11 million trial members

PanARMENIAN.Net - One month after unveiling its new streaming-music service, Apple has locked in 11 million trial members, USA TODAY reports, citing company executives.

"We're thrilled with the numbers so far," says Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, adding that of that sum, 2 million have opted for the more lucrative family plan at $14.99 a month for up to six people.

Apple Music, which launched June 30, costs $9.99 a month for individual access to 30 million songs as well as human-curation playlists and a live radio station. There's an initial free trial period of three months. Assuming all the trial memberships are converted into paying customers come October, Apple would already boast half the paid memberships of reigning streaming champ Spotify, which launched nearly a decade ago, USA TODAY says.

also brought a fiscal high-water mark for the company's App Store, which did a record $1.7 billion in transactions, "with particular momentum in China," says Cue. That brings the total amount paid to app developers to $33 billion, up from $25 billion at the end of 2014.

The bulk of the $50 billion in revenue Apple posted at the end of the last quarter comes from hardware sales, namely iPhone and iPad. While revenues from app remain small by comparison, clearly building that business could provide the company with steady profits as consumers increasingly live their lives through their multi-function smartphones, using them for everything from entertainment to work.