X

iTunes Radio pressing play in UK in early 2014

iTunes Radio could be with us early next year as Apple races to beat rival streaming service Pandora to other countries.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

iTunes Radio could be with us early next year, according to new rumours. Apple is said to be in a race to beat popular US streaming service Pandora to other countries, including Great Britain.

Bloomberg reports that the plan is to bring iTunes Radio to Australia and New Zealand first in early 2014, as well as the UK and Scandinavian countries.

iTunes Radio is a new streaming feature built-in to Apple's iTunes software, part of iOS 7 for US users.

There's no shortage of options for music streaming in this country, even without Pandora. You've got Rdio, Bloom.fm, Google Music, Last.fm and many more. And the daddy of them all, Spotify, just turned five years old (its most streamed song in that time, incidentally, is Thrift Shop by Macklemore -- have a word with yourself, humanity).

But even in this crowded market the power of iTunes is strong, and for many mainstream listeners could be the first taste of the wonder that is streaming. More importantly, Apple already has deals for big names that have steadfastly refused to go anywhere near other services, such as the Beatles.

Meanwhile popular headphone maker Beats is reported to have plans for its own music service in the US.

Are you excited about iTunes radio, or are you happy getting your music from Spotify, the radio, or the jumble of CDs in the charity shop? How do you listen to music these days? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or play us a tune on our Facebook wall.