I get asked when iTunes Radio will launch in the UK a lot. Our best guess at the moment is that the iTunes streaming radio station service will launch in the UK in February or March 2014.
Technically if you open a US iTunes Account you can already use iTunes Radio from the UK.
This will be a big growth area for Apple in 2014 so you can bet they are doing everything they can to get this launched as quickly as possible.
As we hear more we’ll keep you updated.
Update: June 15th 2014: Apple had always said that they would bring iTunes Radio to the UK in early 2014 but here we are in the middle of June and it still hasn’t launched in the UK. As far as I’m concerned ‘early 2014’ officially ended at Easter so Apple are well and truly late with the launch of iTunes Radio in the UK.
It would seem that Apple are struggling to put the necessary rights deals into place to allow the launch to happen outside the US. A couple of weeks ago they announced the acquisition of Beats Audio who operate a very successful alternative to iTunes Radio. Let’s hope this brings the expertise and commercial contacts they need to get a streaming service launched. In the meantime I’m spending more time than ever in the company of Spotify.
This week the pressure on Apple to launch iTunes Radio or Beats Audio streaming service in the UK and Europe has intensified as Amazon have launched their own streaming service which is bundled into Amazon Prime.
We’re watching this space closely and will bring you an update as soon as we hear any more.
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