Gen Z and Millennials choose Apple Music over Spotify

It may be more than 40 years old, but Apple is an incredibly hot brand with young folk. A new piece of research confirming that comes from consulting firm Fluent, claiming that Apple Music is the most popular audio subscription service among both Generation Z and Millennials.

They’re also a whole lot more likely to pay for music subscriptions than older folks, which certainly bodes well for Apple Music’s future.

Turns out young folks love Apple

At present, seven in ten Americans who listen to an audio streaming service only use the free versions. However, the Fluent study suggests that, among those demographics more likely to pay, Apple Music is the most popular choice.

Among people of 35 and older, just 5 percent will pay for Apple Music. Among this group, Apple Music is tied neck and neck with Spotify, the market leader streaming company Apple that is most obviously competing with.

It’s with younger audiences where Apple Music starts to pull away from Spotify, though. With Millennials — considered as people aged 25-34 — Apple Music takes a massive lead of 14 percent subscription rates, next to Spotify’s 9 percent. Go down to the youngest measured demographic of Gen Z — referring to people 18-24 years old — and Apple Music scores its biggest percentage of users with 19 percent subscription rates. While Spotify closes the gap somewhat with 14 percent subscription rate, it’s still an impressive victory for Apple.

The figures are interesting because they show the extent to which music streaming services may slowly be tipping in Apple’s favor. Right now, Spotify is winning the battle against Apple with upwards of 60 million paying subscribers, compared to Apple Music’s 27 million. Give it a few years, though, and we may start to see Apple catch up.

According to Fluent, the popularity of Apple Music comes down to the fact that Apple is the preferred device brand for Millennials and Generation Z, and there is therefore a propensity for Apple users to stay within the iOS ecosystem.

While that’s definitely good for Apple, however, it doesn’t mean it can take its eye off the ball when it comes to putting out great hardware. Apple’s Services division might be lessening the company’s reliance on the iPhone, but if that product’s popularity dips among young users, it could have a major knock-on effect with other services.

And young folks aren’t exactly renowned for their long-term loyalty to particular brands when trends change!

Luke Dormehl

Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.