Apple's bet on original content is paying off in an important way

Apple Music could soon overtake Spotify in one important way.

Apple's streaming platform is now adding U.S. subscribers at a faster rate than longtime competitor Spotify, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, whose sources say Apple Music is set to overtake Spotify in the United States if it holds at its current growth rate of 5 percent a month.

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If it does, it would be a notable setback for Spotify, which is planning to go public later this year. It would also be a significant achievement for Apple, whose streaming platform has long lagged behind competitors despite the company's general dominance. 

To be clear, Apple is still a long way off from overtaking Spotify on the global stage. As the WSJ notes, Spotify counts 70 million paid subscribers, compared with Apple's 36 million.

Still, being able to beat Spotify at home in the U.S. would be a big deal for Apple. The service launched in 2015 with a rocky, bug-filled rollout, and though the company has made some gains, Apple hasn't addressed all of the underlying issues. 

The Wall Street Journal does't speculate on what's responsible for Apple Music's surge, but it likely has more to do with the company's investments in original content than improvements to the streaming platform itself.

Apple debuted two original series exclusive to Apple Music last year: Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke — both of which required an Apple Music subscription to watch. But Apple didn't require viewers to pay up front, instead offering three-month free trials for first-time sign-ups.

It's apparently been a winning strategy. Apple VP Eddy Cue told Reuters in August that Apple Music saw an uptick in new subscribers after launching Planet of the Apps. And there was significantly more interest in Carpool Karaoke, which was based on an already popular franchise. So while Apple hasn't broken specific metrics around the series, it certainly looks like they've been responsible for recent short-term growth.

For Apple Music, the bigger test will be whether it can maintain its current growth. If the platform can get existing subscribers to stick around after their free trial, and lure more new sign-ups with fresh original content, it will prove not only that Apple can be a force in original programming, it could give the company a shot at one day beating Spotify. 

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