Apple Music has revealed that its number of paid subscribers has passed 20 million for the first time.

The company’s SVP, internet software and services, Eddy Cue, has hinted that it will continue to tie artists to exclusive deals, as it did with Drake’s Views and Frank Ocean’s Blonde earlier this year. He said the company had hosted exclusives for 70 albums over the last 12 months, six of which had topped the US Billboard charts.

Interviewed in this week's edition of Music Week, Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said streaming services 'need our help to grow'.

"I don't think exclusives or promotions are anything new," Eddy Cue said. "They were done in the record business, they were done on iTunes, now they're being done on streaming."

He continued: "The exclusives are relatively short term - it's not something that stays on any one platform. But being able to do unique things with artists is a good thing and I think that'll continue."

Apple Music passed 13 million subscribers back in April, and in July the streaming service bought the rights to a Carpool Karaoke spin-off show hosted by James Corden.

Along with Apple Music’s work with artists and labels on exclusive streaming deals, this was seen as a move that further ate into market leader Spotify’s territory.

Spotify is still out in front, with figures of 40 million paying subscribers as of September 2016.

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