NEW YORK (AP) — Apple Music is about to hit a huge milestone by offering its astonishing 100 millionth song on the streaming service.
The music giant tells The Associated Press that internal data indicates Apple Music will hit the heady mark on Monday. Every day, 20,000 singer-songwriters release music on the service.
“It’s a huge, huge number,” Rachel Newman, Apple’s global chief editorial and content officer, told the AP. “It really is possible to create music, record it and release it more than ever in the history of music, which we think is pretty incredible.”
Apple Music says the milestone cements it as the world’s largest music catalog, more than YouTube Music’s 80 million songs, Spotify’s 82 million tracks and podcasts, and Amazon Music’s 90 million songs.
While the actual song that brings Apple Music over the threshold won’t be known, there’s a good chance it doesn’t originate in the US or even be in English, as the service sees more coming and more music from around the world.
When iTunes launched, the service had music in 200 languages and dialects, with half of the content in English. Now 40% of Apple Music offerings are in English and the number of languages and dialects is up to 350. The platform’s top charts, once the domain of the US, UK, Canada and Australia, are now populated by melodies from Japan, Colombia. , Ghana, Nigeria and South Korea.
The milestone has rapidly approached as the world becomes more digital. The number of songs on Apple Music has doubled in the past four years, from 50 million in 2018, and the pandemic is believed to have sped up the timeline as isolated people looked for creative outlets.
The 100 millionth song could perhaps come from an as-yet-unknown artist, Apple Music added.
Apple Inc. started iTunes in 2003 with 200,000 songs powering its iPods and launched Apple Music seven years ago, now powering iPhones, with subscribers in 167 countries and regions.
He also says that his customers don’t just listen to the news; they are exploring previous catalogs of artists. In 2015, when Apple Music launched, the top 1,000 songs made up 20% of streams. Now they represent 10%. The song’s average release date is March 7, 2017, a number narrowed down by listeners going back in time.
The music streamer is celebrating the milestone with the launch on Monday of a new editorial series called Apple Music Today. The streamer’s editorial team tells the story behind a new or old song, now with 100 million to choose from each time.
“We think this is an opportunity to help all of our subscribers connect with music that they may have forgotten or may not be aware of,” Newman said. “And, also important, finding a new platform to tell stories. We think that’s one of the things we’re doing to preserve art in music.”