Australia has become the second market in the world where Apple has launched iTunes Radio.
The week after Australian regional stations turned off their internet audio simulcast streams, iTunes Radio has introduced its free Internet radio and streaming music service, featuring over 100 stations and a huge catalog of music from the iTunes Store.
Apple describes the ‘radio stations’ that are on the services as “featured radio stations are DJ-curated, editorial, or hybrid stations that appear at the top of the iTunes Radio screen and will change periodically.”
“When you tune into iTunes Radio on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC or Apple TV, you’ll have access to stations inspired by the music you already listen to,” says iTunes in a statement just released early this morning, Australian time.
Commuters switching on their iTunes on the way to work this morning have found another icon on their iTunes player, which today opens automatically to the new iTunes radio.
“Featured Stations curated by Apple and genre-focused stations that are personalized just for you. iTunes Radio evolves based on the music you play and download. The more you use iTunes Radio and iTunes, the more it knows what you like to listen to and the more personalized your experience becomes. iTunes Radio also gives you access to exclusive “First Play” premieres from top selling artists, plus the ability to tag or buy anything you hear with just one click.
“iTunes Radio offers music fans access to thousands of new songs every week, as well as serving up exclusive music from new and popular artists before you hear them anywhere else. Whether it’s an exclusive single from an up-and-coming band or a pre-release stream of an entire album, iTunes Radio has it all. iTunes Radio is home to special events including live streams direct from the iTunes Festival in London and other exclusive iTunes Sessions.”
The service is supported by advertising and is free. Users who have paid for iTunes Match will get iTunes Radio ad-free. All your music, even songs you’ve imported from CDs, are stored in iCloud.
Our regular expert tech contributor, Trevor Long, has reviewed the new product in his column here.
Meanwhile, Spotify has announced Billy Bragg will do a radio show on Spotify, bringing that streaming music service closer to radio-like programming. However the show will only be monthly and seems more like a podcast than live radio.
To keep track of all our stories about streaming in recent days, click here.