MIDiA Research released its second quarter 2021 Global music streaming platform usage report on Jan 19. Statistics show that the number of subscribers to streaming music services is growing rapidly globally, with the total number of subscribers reaching 523.9 million by the second quarter of 2021, up 26.4 percent from the same period in 2020.

Spotify remains the world's most popular music streaming platform, with a market share of 31 per cent, more than double the number two. But the data shows a decline in Spotify's market share in 2021. Apple Music is second with 15 percent of the market and more than 78 million paid subscribers.

Amazon Music tied with Tencent'S QQ Music for third place with 13 percent market share. YouTube Music ranked fifth and NetEase Cloud Music ranked sixth.

The research firm says YouTube Music is the fastest growing platform for the second year in a row, with an 8% market share.

MIDiA Research says that while the total number of paid music streaming subscriptions will grow globally in 2021, IT doesn't mean the companies will see a significant increase in revenue, as many users get their subscriptions bundled and some get discounts. Music streaming services are also cheaper in some emerging markets.