The service will be ad-supported, and free to use. ITunes Match users will get the ad-free service. This service launches "this fall".
In an announcement that would have made the rumor mill very happy, Apple has officially announced the music streaming service that everyone expected. No, it isn’t called iRadio (something that we had pointed out here, but iTunes Radio. The service will offer free internet radio, with over 200 stations streaming. Additionally, the service will link-up with the iTunes music store catalogue.
“iTunes Radio is an incredible way to listen to personalised radio stations which have been created just for you,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “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.”
The iTunes Radio service will be available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and the MacBook, and also on the PC via iTunes desktop software. The service will be launched this fall, in line with the iOS 7 release, and will focus on making the experience as personalized as possible. The idea is to understand what a particular user listens to, and personalize the radio stations based on that. This will be synced across all devices you may have signed in on.
Apple says that iTunes Radio users will be treated to exclusives from time to time, like a yet to be released single, or an entire album available for listening before its official release.
iTunes Radio will be ad-supported, and free to use. iTunes Match users however get the additional goodness, because the subscription makes iTunes Radio ad-free. An iTunes Match subscription costs Rs 1200 per year.