Apple Music Might Have Lost Nearly Half Of Its Users According To MusicWatch, Apple Refutes Study

Apple Music might be having a problem keeping many of its users from tuning out, The Guardian reports.

In a survey held by MusicWatch, results suggest that odds aren’t exactly in favor of Apple Music. Out of all 5,000 iOS users who participated in the survey, 48 percent have stopped using the recently-launched music service.

Apple has been quick to refute the legitimacy of the survey, having sent a statement to The Verge claiming that 78 percent of users who signed up for Apple Music are still onboard.

Which begs the question: What do we make of these two conflicting results? To start, there are many other telltale numbers from the survey that can shed more light on what the future holds for Apple Music. So let’s start throwing some numbers around.

It must be noted that 77 percent of iOS users who participated in the survey were aware that Apple Music exists at all. After Taylor Swift just gave the streaming service some promotional push, it’s not difficult to see why. Apple Music has also gotten some buzz when Dr. Dre’s Compton album hit 25 million streams via the streaming service, as reported in Inquisitr. Apple Music has no shortage when it comes to big name sponsorships as this tweet would further suggest.

.@OneDirection and @Pharrell to headline Apple Music Festival: http://t.co/UDrwRVX3ps pic.twitter.com/UxZrMfqNNt

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 18, 2015

The survey also shows that 11 percent of iOS users use the Apple Music service. It’s not a stellar number by a long shot, but given that the figure is quite similar to the amount of iOS users who purchase downloads from iTunes, it’s not bad either.

Another good approach is to check the competition, which is just as well, since Spotify usage was also taken into account in the survey. The survey also says that 28 percent of Spotify Premium (paid) users are using Apple Music. This postulates that a small percentage of Spotify users are at least interested in checking what Apple Music can bring to the table.

Of all current Apple Music users, 64 percent claimed that they’re willing to renew their paid subscription once their free-trial ends. Interestingly, 61 percent have turned off their auto-renewal option for Apple Music; this statistic, however, might be insignicant since it’s possible that these users only want to pay in their own terms.

In the final analysis, one independent study can’t account for an overall result, as Apple’s dispute clearly shows. Russ Crupnick’s statements to Engadget further suggested that the survey results are just a big portion of the pie.

I don’t think these results are necessarily a reflection of the quality of the service. Even those who said they aren’t using [Apple Music] at the moment, that doesn’t mean they never will. Some of those folks could come back or they may just be more casual users.

Apple Music’s place in the intensifying “streaming wars” will be more clear once the service’s free-trial ends and renewals begin in October. If Spotify’s recent moves are any indication, Apple Music will be hard-pressed to lay claim to the title “Spotify killer” – at least for now.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]