Apple Music is a streaming music service launched by Apple Inc. in 2015. With over 75 million songs available on-demand, Apple Music boasts one of the largest music catalogs among major streaming platforms.
Apple Music offers subscribers access to an extensive library of songs to stream and download. While the exact number of tracks fluctuates as licenses expire and new content is added, Apple reportedly had over 60 million songs available when the service first launched in 2015.
Today, Apple Music’s catalog size is estimated to be around 75 million songs globally, with variations by country. This vast collection includes the latest pop hits, classics, obscure indie releases, and more.
With its huge catalog, Apple Music provides an extensive selection of music spanning many eras, genres, and languages. Subscribers can enjoy both mainstream popular music as well as niche and cult favorites.
Apple Music Library Milestones
Apple Music launched in June 2015 with an initial catalog of over 30 million songs.[1] The service has seen tremendous growth in its music library over the years. In 2019, Apple announced that Apple Music had reached over 60 million songs.[2] Just three years later in 2022, Apple Music celebrated reaching a major milestone of 100 million songs in its catalog.[3] This makes it the world’s largest music streaming catalog.
Hitting 100 million songs is a significant achievement as Apple continues growing its service. Apple Music’s head of editorial Rachel Newman noted “Reaching this milestone reinforces our commitment to music and the passion music fans have for listening to their favorite artists and exploring new ones.”[3] The extensive catalog provides listeners with an incredibly diverse selection of music to discover and enjoy.
Sources:
[1] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2015/06/30Apple-Introduces-Apple-Music-A-Revolutionary-Streaming-Music-Service/
[2] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/06/apple-music-now-has-over-60-million-subscribers/
[3] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/10/celebrating-100-million-songs/
Comparisons to other Streaming Services
As of January 2024, Apple Music has a catalog of over 100 million songs according to https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-music-streaming-service/. This makes it comparable in size to other major streaming services like Spotify, which also has over 100 million tracks. Amazon Music has around 90 million songs, while newer services like YouTube Music offer over 80 million songs.
Apple Music’s huge catalog gives it an advantage over competitors, especially when it comes to niche genres. However, the core popular hits are available on most major platforms. Spotify still retains a slight edge in terms of personalization features like Discover Weekly playlists.
While catalog size does not singularly determine the quality of a music service, Apple Music’s extensive music library ensures users can find all their favorite artists and songs in one place. The service frequently secures exclusive releases from top artists as well, further expanding its offerings.
Breakdown by Genre
Apple Music has an extensive library across many popular genres. According to the Apple Music Style Guide, Apple Music categorizes songs into genres like Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop/Rap, R&B/Soul, Dance/Electronic, Country, Jazz, Classical, and many more. While exact numbers by genre are not published, Apple Music claims to have the largest catalog in key genres like Pop, Hip-Hop/Rap, and Rock.
For example, Apple Music has licensing deals with all major record labels like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group. This gives Apple Music extensive coverage of popular music across genres from the 1960s onwards. Apple Music also has many exclusives and early releases, especially in Hip-Hop/Rap from top artists like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and The Weeknd.
Overall, Apple Music strives to offer a deep catalog of tens of millions of tracks across all major commercial genres. This caters to diverse listener tastes and provides extensive choices for music fans to explore within their preferred genres.
Regional Availability
Apple Music is currently available in over 167 countries and regions around the world, offering access to an extensive catalog of over 100 million songs. However, there are some differences in catalog size depending on the country or region.
Apple Music launched first in the United States, Australia, and Western Europe in 2015. Today, these regions continue to have the most comprehensive access to Apple’s full catalog. For example, the U.S. Apple Music library contains over 90 million songs as of 2023.
In contrast, some countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America have a more limited selection. For instance, the available catalog in Indonesia and South Africa contains around 50-60 million songs. Regional restrictions, licensing issues, and delayed rollouts of new releases contribute to these catalog discrepancies across countries.
Apple continues working to expand their licensing agreements globally. While total song count varies, Apple Music aims to provide each region with a tailored selection of local and international music based on listening trends and popularity.
Impact of Exclusive Releases
Apple Music has notably grown its catalog through high-profile exclusive album releases. In 2016, Frank Ocean’s albums Endless and Blond were released exclusively on Apple Music, garnering significant attention and subscribers for the streaming service according to this article. Other major exclusives have included Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book in 2016, DJ Khaled’s Grateful in 2017, and Drake’s Views in 2019. These surprise album drops create buzz and give Apple Music a competitive edge in attracting new users.
By partnering directly with top artists to premiere new releases, Apple Music has been able to quickly expand its catalog with highly sought-after content. Exclusives also encourage listeners to choose Apple Music over competitors so they can access releases as soon as they drop. This influx of new material, especially entire album exclusives from chart-topping artists, has been a major driver in the growth of Apple Music’s catalog since launch.
Curation and Personalization
With over 90 million songs in its catalog, curation and personalization are critical for Apple Music users to discover new music they’ll enjoy (1). Playlists like New Music Mix and Chill Mix use both algorithmic recommendations based on listening history and human curation by Apple Music’s editors to suggest songs tailored to each listener.
However, some users feel Apple Music’s curated playlists can be hit-or-miss or recommend obscure artists too often (2). Users can reset their preferences and listening history to improve recommendations by turning off “Use Listening History” under Music settings or disabling their Apple ID’s direct marketing preferences under Apple ID settings (3). Overall, balancing algorithmic personalization with human curation remains an ongoing process as Apple Music evolves.
Sources:
(1) https://www.makeuseof.com/reset-apple-music-recommendations/
(2) https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9iiaqf/apple_musics_curation_is_horrible/
(3) https://www.makeuseof.com/reset-apple-music-recommendations/
Licensing and Royalties
Apple Music has licensing deals with all the major record labels – Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group – to allow Apple to stream their full music catalogs on the service. These deals were critical to launching Apple Music, as having access to major label content is an absolute necessity for any on-demand streaming service.
According to reports, Apple is paying around 52% of subscription revenue to record labels. Of this amount, the labels pay a royalty rate to artists based on their individual contracts. The industry average royalty rate artists receive from streaming services is around 10-15% of the label’s cut.
So for a $9.99 monthly Apple Music subscription, around $5.20 goes to the labels, of which the artist may receive around $0.50-0.80 on average. This varies widely, with bigger artists able to negotiate higher royalty rates in their contracts.
Growth Projections
Market research indicates that the music streaming market is projected to grow substantially in the coming years. According to Statista, the worldwide music streaming market is projected to grow by 4.70% between 2024-2027, resulting in a market volume of US$33.97 billion in 2027 [1]. This growth is being driven primarily by the continued adoption of streaming as the dominant form of music consumption globally.
For Apple Music specifically, the growth in the streaming catalog size will likely continue to accelerate as Apple aggressively seeks more content to drive further subscriber growth. Apple is expected to leverage its considerable resources and clout to broker new licensing deals and exclusive releases, particularly as competitors like Spotify also expand their libraries. The proliferation of new releases across popular genres like pop, hip-hop, and country will provide further momentum. Personalization features such as customized playlists also incentivize wider catalog breadth to serve diverse listener tastes.
Conclusion
In summary, Apple Music boasts an extensive music library with over 90 million songs available. While the exact number fluctuates as new releases are continually added and some older content is removed, Apple Music’s catalog provides more depth and variety than competing services. This vast selection is made possible through licensing agreements across the music industry. Apple Music’s investments into exclusive releases, personalized recommendations, and expert curation further enhance the service’s offerings. Looking ahead, Apple Music is poised to expand with more regional availability and strategic growth initiatives. With a massive catalog tailored to diverse tastes, Apple Music delivers an unparalleled musical experience.