Apple's iTunes Radio Becomes Third Most Popular U.S. Music Streaming Service

Less than six months after its launch alongside iOS 7 last September, Apple's iTunes Radio has become the third most popular music streaming service in the United States, according to a new report from Edison Research and Statista (via Fortune).

streaming_services_chart_mar_14
While Pandora and iHeartRadio took first and second place with a 31% and 9% share of the market respectively, iTunes Radio accounted for an 8% share with over 20 million users, passing Spotify's 6%. Apple's streaming service also passed the likes of competitors such as Google Play All Access, Rhapsody, Slacker, and TuneIn Radio.

While users can hop between services freely (and at least one report has suggested that 92 percent of iTunes Radio listeners also find time for Pandora), that figure would suggest that iTunes Radio is growing at the fastest rate of the top three services, and is likely to overtake iHeartRadio in the next quarter or two.

Apple launched iTunes Radio in Australia last month, as the company looks to ultimately have the service "in more than 100 countries," according to senior vice president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue. The company will be able to roll out its service to additional countries more quickly than competitors due to its existing international rights deals with Universal Music Group and other record companies.

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...

Top Rated Comments

keterboy Avatar
155 months ago
Is pandora really that strong? I seem to see that everyone uses spotify. Thought spotify was much stronger in the numbers...:confused:
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menel Avatar
155 months ago
why did i think Spotify would be number one for sure ^^ guess the US prefers to skip through random songs
1. Takes too much effort to build a specially catered playlist.

Pandora's algorithms are second to none in mine and many people's experience. And they've developed a reputation around this. I rarely felt the need to skip.

Still I have dropped it, for iTunes Radio...

2. Spotify is incredibly expensive. Even for people who pay the 'Apple Tax'. And have the ability and time to dedicate to building their own playlists... In order to build a playlist from songs and store for offline usage on your mobile, Spotify wants $120/yr... and you lose it all if you ever stop paying.

iTunes Match with ad free iTunes Radio is $25/yr and leaves you a leftover $95 budget for 73-95 new DRM free songs licensed to you, perpetually and not tied to a subscription service.

That's 2, maybe 3 whole completely new playlists.

In reality, can spend a fraction of that to merely bolster, rework and refresh current playlists.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbeagle Avatar
155 months ago

I hate surveys... Yes, let's use a survey of 2,023 people to resemble the population of 320 million people in the United States. :roll eyes:
You need to read up on statistics. I know, it seems at first to make no sense at all, I thought the same way originally - but if you read up on statistics you'll understand that getting the correct sample size for the correct results is often less than 1% of the group you are studying.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
155 months ago
why did i think Spotify would be number one for sure ^^ guess the US prefers to skip through random songs
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rudy69 Avatar
155 months ago
Now if only they could launch in Canada....
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Imory Avatar
155 months ago
1. Takes too much effort to build a specially catered playlist.

Pandora's algorithms are second to none in mine and many people's experience. And they've developed a reputation around this. I rarely felt the need to skip.

Still I have dropped it, for iTunes Radio...

2. Spotify is incredibly expensive. Even for people who pay the 'Apple Tax'. And have the ability and time to dedicate to building their own playlists... In order to build a playlist from songs and store for offline usage on your mobile, Spotify wants $120/yr... and you lose it all if you ever stop paying.

iTunes Match with ad free iTunes Radio is $25/yr and leaves you a leftover $95 budget for 73-95 new DRM free songs licensed to you, perpetually and not tied to a subscription service.

That's 2, maybe 3 whole completely new playlists.

In reality, can spend a fraction of that to merely bolster, rework and refresh current playlists.

I've never used Itunes Radio, seeing as it's not available in where I live. Nevertheless, correct me if I'm wrong but you can't listen to a specific song whenever you want, right?

How is $120/yr expensive for listening to exactly what you want whenever and wherever you want? I honestly don't get the point of iTunes Radio. How is it different to Pandora and what does it do that other simplistic internet radios don't already offer?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)