Apple Music free trial expiry: The real game begins now

With its three-month anniversary set on September 30, the subscription to free trial music at Apple Music will expire. Apple has already published the step for subscribers to manage their membership, to change from individual plan to family plan, membership renewal plans, and even cancelling the membership.

New York Post reports that Apple Music gained nearly 15 million users in the short span of its three months in business, according to music industry sources. What’s interesting to note is that half of those who subscribed have not turned off auto-pay, meaning they will switch from free to paid customers.

“If those 7.5 million Apple subscribers stay with the service after the gratis period, the company will have more than a third of Spotify’s 20 million paid subscribers”, the report added while comparing Apple Music’s user base with that of Spotify. “Spotify has 75 million users, with the majority not paying for its premium tier.”

However, question arises that how many people will actually stick around once the free-trial period ends. Yahoo Finance reports that in mid-August, Apple said 79% of people who signed up were still active users, after a survey by Musicwatch revealed that nearly half of people who tried Apple Music had already quit. 

“If Apple reports between 30 million and 50 million trialists by year-end, then we can consider it successful,” music industry analyst Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research told The Post. “More than 5 million paying subscribers would be a success. Above 7 million would be a strong success.”

It seems the music industry has its hopes pinned on to Apple Music. It remains uncertain as to how many subscribers will make the switch to paid membership.