Amazon Music isn't even close to catching Spotify, despite 55M listeners
It's getting pretty close to Apple Music, though.
Amazon Music has passed 55 million customers globally, the company announced Wednesday -- putting it far closer to Apple Music's 60 million subscribers, as reported earlier by the Financial Times. This number includes Prime members who listen to the music service for free as part of their membership, along with Amazon Music Unlimited, HD, and Free tier members.
The "substantial majority" of Amazon Music customers are in one of the paid tiers of service, an Amazon spokesperson told CNET. Apple counts people with free trial accounts in its subscriber tally.
Subscriptions to Amazon Music Unlimited grew by more than 50% last year, the company said. The streaming service has tried to differentiate itself from competitors like Spotify and Apple Music by offering Amazon Music HD, a streaming tier that includes high-resolution versions of the platform's 50 million-plus tracks.
Amazon Prime subscribers can listen to 2 million songs on Amazon Music as a part of their membership, and can upgrade to the HD plan for an extra $8/month. Otherwise, a regular Amazon Music Unlimited subscription starts at $4/month for one device, while Amazon Music HD subscriptions start at $13/month. People who do not have a Prime membership or an Amazon Music subscription can still listen to some ad-supported music free.
Despite the growth, Amazon Music has a long way to go before it catches up to Spotify's 113 million subscribers.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read more: Best music streaming: Spotify, Apple Music and more, compared
Originally published Jan. 22 at 1:01 p.m. PT. Update, 4:15 p.m. PT: Added information from Amazon.