Yawn: Apple Could Launch iRadio Streaming Music Service This Year
January 4, 2013
One of the biggest surprises with iTunes 11 is that it didn’t come with a streaming music service that would have competed with Pandora and Spotify as once rumored. However, a new report suggests Apple’s so-called iRadio is still on track and should arrive this year, according to Investors Business Daily.
BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield told investors that Apple will launch an Internet radio service once they complete negotiations with music labels.
He states:
Consumer behavior (is) increasingly shifting toward access to a music catalog from ownership of specific songs. We expect iRadio to be incorporated into the iTunes iOS app with personalized radio functionality akin to Pandora, integrated with iTunes to purchase music and other music related content such as concert information/tickets/merchandise via Live Nation and Ticketmaster.The idea of an iRadio service for iTunes is certainly not new. In October, for example, Bloomberg suggested that Apple would launch an "iStreaming" product this year. My only question to Apple were it to arrive: What took you so long? While I understand that Apple must negotiate with the music labels, this should have been done a long time ago, especially given the growing competition. Besides Pandora and Spotify, other companies also provide monthly streaming music services including MOG, Rdio, and Slacker Radio. Would you subscribe to a streaming music service by Apple or will you stay with your current provider? Source: Investors Business Daily