6-10-13
Everybody wants to be in the radio business these days and although it was announced yesterday, iTunes Radio will not be available until the fall. The service will be much like Pandora and iHeartRadio where you can create your own radio station. In the most comprehensive coverage of iTunes Radio, CNET says iTunes Radio is "a serious competitor" to Pandora. They also called it a "useful addition to Apple's iTunes empire." And, in the end, that may be the difference. Apple is adding a tool to its empire. Pandora is trying to build an empire off the service.
Siri will also be part of the new product, according to an Apple press release. You can ask Siri ?Who plays that song?? or ?Play more like this? and Siri will make it happen. You can also have Siri add songs to your Wish List to download later.
iTunes Radio is ad-supported and free for everyone. iTunes Match users get iTunes Radio ad-free, so instead of hearing the occasional ad on iTunes Radio, iTunes Match makes listening completely ad-free. With iTunes Match, all your music?even songs you?ve imported from CDs?are stored in iCloud. Apple says, "iTunes Radio can use information about your entire music collection to make your stations even more personalized. iTunes Match costs $24.99 for a year." That's $11.00 less than what consumers pay for Pandora One, allowing them to listen ad-free. iHeartRadio does not play ads on its curated stations.
Read the press release HERE
CNET headlines their story iTunes VS. Pandora
Washington Post coverage HERE
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