Spotify, Apple Music Enjoy A Duopoly of Music Streaming

Spotify and Apple Music collectively dominate the U.S. music streaming market, claiming more than two-thirds of total subscribers. 

Spotify continues to lead as the largest player in the U.S., with its subscriber base growing steadily. Recent estimates suggest Spotify holds around 36% of the U.S. music streaming subscriber market, translating to approximately 49-50 million paying subscribers as of mid-2024, a figure that likely increased into 2025 given its consistent growth trajectory. This dominance is fueled by its extensive music catalog, personalized playlists like "Discover Weekly," and a robust free tier that often converts users to premium subscriptions.

Apple Music follows closely as the second-largest service, commanding about 30.7% of the U.S. market, equating to roughly 41-42 million subscribers in mid-2024, with projections suggesting it could reach 40.6 million in the U.S. alone by the end of 2025. Apple Music benefits from seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem, high-quality audio options like lossless and spatial audio, and exclusive content, appealing especially to users already invested in Apple devices.

Together, these two giants account for over 66%—or two-thirds—of U.S. music streaming subscribers.

 This combined market share is underscored by data indicating that, as of mid-2024, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music collectively held over 90% of the U.S. market. Trends suggest their lead has solidified driven by pricing adjustments, feature enhancements, and market saturation in North America.

This concentration highlights a duopoly in the U.S. streaming space, where Spotify’s algorithm-driven discovery and Apple Music’s hardware synergy have outpaced competitors like Amazon Music, YouTube Music (6.8% market share), and smaller players like Pandora, Tidal, and SoundCloud.