Apple's iTunes Radio Becomes Third Most Popular U.S. Music Streaming Service

Less than six months after its launch alongside iOS 7 last September, Apple's iTunes Radio has become the third most popular music streaming service in the United States, according to a new report from Edison Research and Statista (via Fortune).

streaming_services_chart_mar_14
While Pandora and iHeartRadio took first and second place with a 31% and 9% share of the market respectively, iTunes Radio accounted for an 8% share with over 20 million users, passing Spotify's 6%. Apple's streaming service also passed the likes of competitors such as Google Play All Access, Rhapsody, Slacker, and TuneIn Radio.

While users can hop between services freely (and at least one report has suggested that 92 percent of iTunes Radio listeners also find time for Pandora), that figure would suggest that iTunes Radio is growing at the fastest rate of the top three services, and is likely to overtake iHeartRadio in the next quarter or two.

Apple launched iTunes Radio in Australia last month, as the company looks to ultimately have the service "in more than 100 countries," according to senior vice president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue. The company will be able to roll out its service to additional countries more quickly than competitors due to its existing international rights deals with Universal Music Group and other record companies.

Top Rated Comments

keterboy Avatar
118 months ago
Is pandora really that strong? I seem to see that everyone uses spotify. Thought spotify was much stronger in the numbers...:confused:
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menel Avatar
118 months ago
why did i think Spotify would be number one for sure ^^ guess the US prefers to skip through random songs
1. Takes too much effort to build a specially catered playlist.

Pandora's algorithms are second to none in mine and many people's experience. And they've developed a reputation around this. I rarely felt the need to skip.

Still I have dropped it, for iTunes Radio...

2. Spotify is incredibly expensive. Even for people who pay the 'Apple Tax'. And have the ability and time to dedicate to building their own playlists... In order to build a playlist from songs and store for offline usage on your mobile, Spotify wants $120/yr... and you lose it all if you ever stop paying.

iTunes Match with ad free iTunes Radio is $25/yr and leaves you a leftover $95 budget for 73-95 new DRM free songs licensed to you, perpetually and not tied to a subscription service.

That's 2, maybe 3 whole completely new playlists.

In reality, can spend a fraction of that to merely bolster, rework and refresh current playlists.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbeagle Avatar
118 months ago

I hate surveys... Yes, let's use a survey of 2,023 people to resemble the population of 320 million people in the United States. :roll eyes:
You need to read up on statistics. I know, it seems at first to make no sense at all, I thought the same way originally - but if you read up on statistics you'll understand that getting the correct sample size for the correct results is often less than 1% of the group you are studying.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
118 months ago
why did i think Spotify would be number one for sure ^^ guess the US prefers to skip through random songs
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rudy69 Avatar
118 months ago
Now if only they could launch in Canada....
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Imory Avatar
118 months ago
1. Takes too much effort to build a specially catered playlist.

Pandora's algorithms are second to none in mine and many people's experience. And they've developed a reputation around this. I rarely felt the need to skip.

Still I have dropped it, for iTunes Radio...

2. Spotify is incredibly expensive. Even for people who pay the 'Apple Tax'. And have the ability and time to dedicate to building their own playlists... In order to build a playlist from songs and store for offline usage on your mobile, Spotify wants $120/yr... and you lose it all if you ever stop paying.

iTunes Match with ad free iTunes Radio is $25/yr and leaves you a leftover $95 budget for 73-95 new DRM free songs licensed to you, perpetually and not tied to a subscription service.

That's 2, maybe 3 whole completely new playlists.

In reality, can spend a fraction of that to merely bolster, rework and refresh current playlists.

I've never used Itunes Radio, seeing as it's not available in where I live. Nevertheless, correct me if I'm wrong but you can't listen to a specific song whenever you want, right?

How is $120/yr expensive for listening to exactly what you want whenever and wherever you want? I honestly don't get the point of iTunes Radio. How is it different to Pandora and what does it do that other simplistic internet radios don't already offer?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
iOS 16

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 to Developers [Update: Public RC Available]

Tuesday March 21, 2023 10:25 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the launch of the fourth betas. The RCs mark the final version of the software that will be provided to the public in the near future. Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates...
google bard

Google Opens Up Access to Bard AI Chatbot

Tuesday March 21, 2023 4:23 pm PDT by
Google today began allowing users to sign up to use Bard, its AI-powered chatbot that rivals Microsoft's Bing chatbot. First announced back in February, Bard is an experimental conversational AI service for Google Search. Those interested in Bard can join Google's waitlist to get access, and some users have reported getting invitation emails just hours after signing up. There are a long list ...
smart monitor m8 samsung

Deals: Samsung's iMac-Like Smart Monitor M8 Drops to Lowest Price of Year So Far With $250 Discount

Monday March 20, 2023 8:27 am PDT by
Samsung today kicked off a special "Discover Samsung" event, which will be a week-long savings event focusing on Samsung monitors, smartphones, TVs, appliances, and more. While some deals will stick around the entire week (through March 26), others will refresh every day. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Samsung. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...