Apple leaps ahead of rival Pandora to introduce iTunes Radio to UK first

According to new reports, Apple is set to expand iTunes Radio to the UK market before its rival Pandora. Both companies allow customers to listen to a mix of songs based on their musical tastes, and have already begun wooing potential advertisers for the service.

Already operating in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, eight-year old Pandora hopes to expand to the UK soon, and is already the world’s largest streaming service.

Controlling an impressive 7.77% of the U.S. radio listening market, which equates to 72.7 million active listeners a month, Pandora has a massive amount of big data already stored up, an attractive reason for advertisers to get involved. This, coupled with the fact that its listenership is up 25% from last year, means it could be set to make waves if introduced to the UK.

However, Pandora must not rest of its laurels too soon, with experts believing strong competition is quickly heading its way. According to many, the only giant that could possibly topple Pandora’s current domination of the streaming market is a company backed by the most powerful music retailer behind it, iTunes Radio, that launched just last month along with the new Apple iOS 7 operating system.

The battle between the two companies for the UK audience has begun, as reports reveal Pandora’s efforts have already run into difficulties, being held up due to the company having to rely on music rights being granted by government entities. Contrastingly, Apple’s massive global influence has rumoured to have already secured them international rights with various record companies, including Universal Music, meaning their UK launch could be set for early next year.

Both companies feature short adverts on their services during a break in music, with McDonald’s, Nissan, Procter & Gamble and Pepsi having already signed up last month as launch partners for the iTunes service in the US.