Apple (AAPL) Inc's iTunes Radio Not a Threat to Pandora
With the entry of Google and Apple in the music streaming business, Wall Street analysts have predicted the end of the Internet radio pioneer, Pandora. Now that Google and Apple have respectively announced their answer to Internet radio - Google streaming music launched last month; Apple's iTunes Radio announced last Monday - market investors should keep a close look at Pandora and find it to be doing well despite the new and potential threats.
iTunes Radio may not be the type of Apple product to attract millions of customers. Since iTunes Radio is not really based on a new idea, Apple seems to have lost its focus on innovation. Apple has previously rolled out an iPad mini which was not an innovative product considering similarly-sized Google and other Android -based tablets currently in the market.
Apple investors have high expectations from the company who made the iPod and revolutionized the music industry. Many investors have sold their Apple shares before and after the announcement of the iTunes Radio in WWDC last Monday.
Pandora is the fastest growing Internet radio service and Apple's announcement of iTunes Radio begs for comparison. Tech analysts have already called iTunes Radio a knock-off of Pandora since both services direct users to make their own stations with their favorite music. Pandora and iTunes Radio both use their music algorithms to mix in similar music users will like. Both services offer subscriptions and supported by ads.
iTunes Radio is only available on the iOS platform while Pandora can run on iOS, Android, Windows phones and Roku boxes. Pandora is even part of a pre-installed app in newer car models. It is true that Apple is dominating the media player industry with the iPod but analysts say it may be losing ground due to its limited platform access.
On the other hand, Google Play Music All Access is not quite the threat it is perceived to be. Aside from its long name, it also offers a similar subscription with no ads just like Pandora.
Of course both Apple and Google offer unique features to their streaming services but Pandora is still a force to be reckoned with. Pandora is growing fast in both traditional and online markets with revenues expected to increase by 48% by the end of year.