Apple Music Passes 36M Subscribers, Up 6M In 5 Months

[UPDATED] Apple Music now has 36 million subscribers, up 6 million since an informal announcement from exec Jimmy Iovine of 30 million less than 5 months ago. Spotify has more than 70 million paid subscribers.  

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Apple Music has passed 36 million subscribers worldwide. 

In the U.S., Apple Music subscribers are growing 5% monthly, compared to 2% monthly growth for Spotify, according to the Wall Street Journal, who first reported Apple's milestone.  At that pace, Apple could overtake Spotify there by summer, speculates the Journal.

This increasingly heated competition comes as Spotify nears its first public stock offering, which many view as a referendum on the entire streaming sector.