Apple Music has 6.5 million paying subscribers – Tim Cook
More than 6.5 million people have signed up for Apple Music since its launch more than three months ago, CEO Tim Cook says.
Cook said that an additional 8.5 million people are using the free trial of the Apple Music service. That gives it more than 15 million users in total, which Cook described as a successful debut.
"I'm finding personally that I'm discovering a whole lot of music that I wasn't listening to before," he said. "I think it's fabulous, and to have over 15 million on there, and 6.5 million in the paid category, I'm really happy about it. And I think the runway here is really good."
Apple Music is the company's attempt to carry its dominance of digital music through its iTunes store into the era of music streaming pioneered by Spotify and others. Apple allows its users to test its service with a 90-day free trial.
"If we piss a few people off, I think at least they'll say, 'They made a great product, and I may not agree with this or that, but I respect that they are trying to leave things better than they found it.' At least, that's what I hope they say," Cook said.
"We have music experts, just like the DJ when we were growing up...that are deciding what's next," Cook said. "And it gives you a feeling that there are no words in my vocabulary to describe...It brings the art back in music."
He also revealed that Apple will start taking orders for its updated Apple TV on October 26 and will begin shipping by the end of next week. Last month, Apple unveiled a new version of its Apple TV video streaming box. They added features such as an iPhone-like app store, a new touch-enabled remote, the ability to simultaneously search for content across multiple video providers like HBO, Netflix and Hulu and support for Siri, Apple's digital voice assistant. The Apple TV's price starts from $149.
