On Monday, Apple announced that it would soon be releasing a
streaming radio service through iTunes. Starting this fall, iTunes Radio, which the
company says has been in the works for a while, will be available on all Apple
devices and on Windows-based devices that have iTunes installed.
The streaming radio service will be free (with
advertisements), or can be subscribed to, eliminating occasional ads. It will
feature genre stations, much like what Pandora
Internet Radio and Spotify offer.
According to Apple, what sets iTunes Radio apart from other music streaming
programs and websites is that it’s a more “personalized experience,” that
allows your stations to evolve with the music that you listen to. So, “the more you use iTunes Radio and
iTunes, the more iTunes Radio knows what you like to listen to — and
the more personalized your experience becomes,” Apple explains. Oh,
and Siri can help you navigate the program and take requests if you have an
iPhone.
This announcement from Apple about their new streaming radio
program might seem slightly ill timed and underwhelming. After all, Pandora has
been around since 2000, existing as a free music streaming website whose
mission it is to play music people love with tailored radio stations and a vast
number of genres and artists to choose from. An even newer streaming program is
Spotify, which features radio options and even full albums from another
enormous library of artists. Both programs are free with advertisements, but
allow users to upgrade to a version where advertisements are eliminated for a
small fee.
These advancements in music streaming and listening have
forever changed the music industry and how people can enjoy and discover new
music. So why has Apple, a pioneer in innovative and new technology, arrived so
late in this radio streaming trend?
Only time will tell if iTunes Radio is superior to
preexisting radio streaming websites and programs. Will you try out Apple’s
newest product when it arrives in the U.S. this fall?
No comments:
Post a Comment