
Rumors of Apple launching iRadio
Apple is about to make Pandora's life a lot more difficult. According to The Verge, Apple is very close to reaching streaming licensing agreements with Universal Music Group and Warner Music in an effort to launch iRadio, a streaming radio service similar to Pandora. For those unfamiliar with Pandora, it is a music recommendation service that allows you to pick a song you like and returns a bunch of similar songs in the form of a playlist that you can listen to for free - if you're willing to listen to an ad every few songs or so.
iRadio makes a lot sense for Apple. They have millions of people using their hardware, strong relations with music companies through iTunes, and according to The Daily Beast, $137 billion dollars in cash. But what do students think about the possibility of iRadio?
"Pandora's got too much of a market share. I don't think users will be willing to switch over from a familiar service to basically the same thing offered by Apple," said sophomore aerospace engineering major Chris Bohlman.
Chris has a good point. It does not seem like iRadio is offering anything different from the services Pandora already provides. Senior computer science major Andrew Lally had a different take on the future of iRadio, however.
"If they delete the competitors off their stores like they usually do, people will be too lazy to take it back, and Apple will 'gypsy' it's way into the market."
Apple has a history of blocking out their competitors on their app store. For a while, Apple's app store did not offer any non-Safari web browsers. In another instance, Apple blocked a game in which you operate a sweatshop - Apple has been under fire for their questionable sources of labor overseas recently.
These practices have somewhat tarnished Apple's image, however, as users grew weary of Apple's abuse of market power to beat out their competitors. All things considered, it will be interesting to see how Apple handles the release of iRadio, and how competitive the service will be compared to the likes of Pandora.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
Recent The Munch News Articles
Discuss This Article
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST THE MUNCH NEWS
RECENT THE MUNCH CLASSIFIEDS
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- Ombudsman Office Champions Safe and Humane Immigration...
- La Oficina del Defensor aboga por condiciones seguras y...
- BookTrib's Bites: From Celebrations of Love to Revenge...
- CME Group Gives Last Call for Registration in 20th Annual...
- Booktrib's Bites: Four Reads to Kick Off Autumn
- Become a CFP® Professional and Give Back Through Pro ...
- Booktrib’s Bites: From Inspiring Memoirs to Gothic Horror
- Booktrib's Bites: From Greek Myth to WWII
- CLIMATE HUB PROJECT IN WEST VIRGINIA DRAWS BIPARTISAN...
- HPV vaccination is cancer prevention for your kids
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- FROM PANCAKES TO PROSPERITY: DENNYS TO AWARD $25,000 TO BRING ONE DINER-INSPIRED DREAM TO LIFE!
- ADHD Explained in THE MINI ADHD COACH by Artist and Activist Alice Gendron
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- A Fresh Start: First-Year Students Can Protect Their Mental Health This Back-to-School Season
- Business and Finance Rank as the Most Valuable Degrees this Back-to-School Season, According to CFA Institute Survey