Apple Announces iTunes Radio, Ad-Supported, Free for iTunes Match Subscribers - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Announces iTunes Radio, Ad-Supported, Free for iTunes Match Subscribers

itunes radio

Apple announced iTunes Radio today, a new internet radio service that is built into the Music app in iOS 7. The new feature offers music discovery through featured and genre stations provided by Apple or through the creation of new stations based on a specific artist or song.

iTunes Radio is an incredible way to listen to personalized radio stations which have been created just for you,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “It’s the music you love most and the music you’re going to love, and you can easily buy it from the iTunes Store with just one click.

iTunes Radio keeps track of all of the songs listened to for easy access later for purchasing or repeat listening. iTunes Radio will also be available on Mac and PC through iTunes and Apple TV.

iTunes Radio will be available in the fall for free with ads while iTunes Match subscribers get an ad-free experience. The service will be available starting in the US only at first.

Popular Stories

Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

11 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 18 Pro

Monday May 11, 2026 9:01 am PDT by
We're only four months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a sea change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year, adopting a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 26.5

Monday May 11, 2026 5:09 pm PDT by
Apple released iOS 26.5 after a few months of beta testing, and while it doesn't have the Siri features we were hoping for since those are being held until iOS 27, there are a handful of useful changes worth knowing about. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. End-to-End Encryption for RCS Support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and...
General Apps Reddit Feature

Reddit Starts Blocking Mobile Website, Pushing Users to App Instead

Monday May 11, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
Social network Reddit recently began blocking mobile visitors to its website while pushing them to download the official Reddit app, and it's fair to say that the move is not going down well with users. If you visit reddit.com on your iPhone today, you may see a new popup that can't be dismissed, asking you to "get the app to keep using Reddit." A Reddit spokesperson told Ars Technica...

Top Rated Comments

ck2875 Avatar
169 months ago
I'm happy it's ad-free with iTunes Match.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
169 months ago
I probably will use this more than pandora or spotify radio since its integrated into the music app. Just what I think.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plutonius Avatar
169 months ago
Pointless feature. So many good quality radio apps. So many other services like last.fm or soundcloud (or even the pay for on mobile 'spotify).

iTunes Radio - what's its USP?

Who cares, it's free. If you don't like it, don't use it.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveNinja Avatar
169 months ago
I have iTunes Match anyways so i'll give it a try
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
169 months ago
Awesome...if you're an iTunes Match subscriber.

Pointless feature. So many good quality radio apps. So many other services like last.fm or soundcloud (or even the pay for on mobile 'spotify).

iTunes Radio - what's its USP?

I'm actually pretty excited about this. As an iTunes Match subscriber, I love the fact that I get the ad-free version at no extra charge. I mean, who likes having their music listening experience interrupted with ads every couple of songs? And who likes being limited to the number of tracks you can skip? And with it being available both on OS X and iOS, and the fact that iTunes is the largest digital music store, I think this makes it WAY better than Spotify, which I really liked until my free trial expired. For non-iTunes Match subscribers, you may have a point, but for those of us who do subscribe to iTunes Match, it's awesome.

----------

Ad free for only 25 bucks a year is great. But can you select songs directly for playback, or just radio/playlist mode?

Great question that I hope the answer to is yes you can play songs directly.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
169 months ago
A big old MEH after all that.

Also - shock horror its US only.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)