“At WWDC this week Apple announced its rumored ‘iRadio’ streaming music service. The service, dubbed iTunes Radio allows users to stream music using a radio station model via the Music app built into iOS,” Jason D. O’Grady writes for ZDNet. “The tagline is that iTunes Radio ‘builds and brings together stations that you’ll love from day one.'”
“The most obvious comparison is to Pandora which launched its streaming radio service in 2008 and currently has over 70 million active monthly listeners,” O’Grady writes. “Apple most likely chose the radio station model because: It’s less like to cannibalize its iTunes music sales. A buy button is prominently displayed in the upper-right hand corner of the iTunes Radio now playing screen putting you just a touch away from being able to purchase a track; It was a much easier sell to the music labels. I’m sure that the buy button in the upper-right corner was a significant part of Apple pitch to labels; [and] It was easier to close deals with three major music labels.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related article:
Apple announces iTunes Radio – launches this fall – June 10, 2013