Apple say only 21 percent of US users who have tested Apple Music no longer use it, countering the results of a survey that found defection rates at more than twice that amount.
In a survey of 5000 people in the US, released on Tuesday, music industry research company MusicWatch found that 48 percent of those who had tried out the new online streaming music service have stopped using it.
However, Apple says that the number is much lower.
A spokesman for the company said "79 percent of people who signed up for a trial are using the service".
In the MusicWatch survey, 28 percent of respondents who were trying out Apple Music said they also had Spotify Premium subscriptions.
However, only 11 percent were users of the free version of Spotify, and six per cent used the free version of internet radio Pandora.
To edge its way into the music-streaming market, Apple has offered a three-month trial period to new subscribers, after which subscriptions cost US$9.99 per month (NZ$15.14)
Apple has long been a key player in the digital music landscape thanks to its iTunes store and is hoping to capitalise on that established user base, with a goal of reaching 100 million Apple Music users.
Earlier this month, Apple's head of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, said the newcomer music service had 11 million users.
Spotify has 20 million paid subscribers and 75 million users overall, according to its website.
AFP
