Analyst Predicts Pandora-like iRadio for 2013

Driven by the consumer habit of listening to radio at least two hours per day, radio is another intense area of interest for Apple – or at least this is what a BTIG analyst thinks (via MacRumors). This means we can assist in the launch of a Pandora-like iRadio, á lá Apple, and it is projected to arrive this year.

With consumer behavior increasingly shifting toward access to a music catalog from ownership of specific songs, Apple launches an iRadio service. We expect iRadio to be incorporated into the iTunes iOS app with personalized radio functionality akin to Pandora, integrated with iTunes to purchase music and other music related content such as concert information/tickets/merchandise via Live Nation and Ticketmaster. We believe Apple is negotiating direct deals with music labels to offer a far more robust service than current digital radio services that rely on compulsory licenses. iRadio will not only be a global solution, but will include increased skips per hour and extended caching for offline playback. While a Spotify-like music subscription service will not be included in iRadio’s launch, we believe it could come in future iterations.

Richard Greenfield, the cited BTIG analyst, doesn’t do anything else but reiterate earlier rumours claiming Apple is in talks with major music labels. This was also reported by Bloomberg back in October, but a couple months later CNET reported exactly the opposite.

Would you use a Pandora-like iRadio incorporated into the iOS iTunes app?