NZ set for 2014 iTunes Radio launch
Kiwis can soon enjoy iTunes Radio after Apple executive Eddy Cue revealed the service will be running internationally in the very near future, believed to be early next year.
After recently launching the service in the UK, Cue told the Associated Press that one of Cupertino's top priorities is to bring iTunes Radio everywhere in the world.
"We certainly want to be in more than 100 countries," he said.
As a result, Bloomberg reports that "people with knowledge of the situation" claim the service will start in both Australia and New Zealand in early 2014 - challenging industry leader Pandora in the process.
After launching the music streaming service late last month, the tech giant gained 11 million new users within its first week of release.
"We were very pleased, very pleased with the initial results," Cue said.
And despite Pandora currently enjoying 72 million listeners, and Spotify 24 million, Cue isn't worried by the competition, insisting there's room for everyone within the industry.
"We want to be the best," Cue did admit however.
After receiving some mixed reviews so far, Cue claims Apple's unique selling point is its ability to generate a better match of songs for listeners.
"That's a lot of the feedback that I've seen both that people have written about and certainly the emails," Cue added.
"It's the quality of the stations.
"The question -- and what the ability that we have that I felt was unique ... that we could have a radio station that played songs that you would really like."
Live from the WWDC in San Francisco in June, Apple released the eagerly anticipated iTunes Radio, branded as a free internet radio service featuring over 200 stations and a vast catalogue of iTunes music at the time.
“iTunes Radio is an incredible way to listen to personalised radio stations which have been created just for you,” Cue said in June.
“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.”
Can the launch of iTunes Radio in New Zealand challenge the dominance of both Pandora and Spotify?
