MUMBAI: Dr. Dre's Beats Music app for the iPhone has shot to number one on the iTunes Top Downloaded Music Apps. The free music streaming application is followed by Pandora on second, Spotify on third and SoundCloud on fourth.

After releasing an update on 18 April, the application climbed to the top of the iOS music charts on 23 April, shortly after a Billboard report about the app tanking due to its inability to attract customers came out.

The app recently gave listeners on iOS devices the ability to subscribe to its on-demand service directly within the app. The option was not previously available due to high costs of doing so. The move means Beats Music now pays 30 per cent of any $9.99 monthly subscription fees generated via their app to Apple. Rhapsody and Rdio allow in-app subscriptions, but notably Spotify has not.

The app, founded by producer Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, was launched in February 2014. The colossal expenses on the marketing and a partnership with AT&T now might just have a chance of being covered. Beats Music will be sharing its in-app revenue with Apple, according to the App Store's 70-30 split, but this loss in cash may be offset by an increase in subscriber numbers.

It is also number five in the overall Top Free Apps chart and number eight in the Top Grossing music category. This latter metric suggests more than a few customers are deciding to subscribe to the music streaming service using this new in-app option. In addition to the new in-app subscription, the updated Beats Music App also has the option for Facebook friend search, an offline mode, artist promotional offers and more.