Dr Dre's New Album Proves Apple Music Is A Major Competitor

After tech giants Apple launched their music streaming service Apple Music in June, many wondered if it would be able to keep up with rival competitors such as Spotify and as it turns out, a massive indicator that Apple will indeed be a major player in the streaming game has come through the figures of rap mogul Dr Dre's latest album.

The veteran producer's first record in 16 years, Compton, garnered 25 million streams within its first week and sold nearly half a million downloads through the iTunes store. 

As the New York Times report, former record executive Jimmy Iovine, who helped build Apple Music, said the results were an indication of the positive direction that the service is heading in. 

"We’re beginning to show what we can do in terms of communicating music to a worldwide audience and helping artists at the same time," Iovine said. 

While it managed to debut in the #1 position on the Australian Charts this past week, it still fell one place short in the US to take out #2, just behind country music singer Luke Brian's latest record.

Meanwhile, the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, which Dre's latest record was inspired by, is already posting huge numbers since its cinema release in the States. 

After it breezed past box office expectations upon its opening weekend, the film now holds the record for the fifth highest August opening in history, as well as the biggest opening for a musical biopic.

Straight Outta Compton will be released in Australian cinemas on 27 Aug.