One of the many products of the famous Apple, Inc., iTunes Radio is an up-and-coming music streaming service that boasts an extensive music library, intuitive features, and a price that can't be beat. Based out of Cupertino, California, Apple announced the creation of iTunes Radio in June 2013 and proceeded to launch the service in September that year. Initially, it was made available in only the US, but a few months later, in February 2014, Apple extended it to Australia as well. Currently only those two countries can use the new service. iTunes Radio takes a similar approach to most competing music streaming companies. It detects users' listening activity-likes, dislikes, downloads, etc.-and uses that information to update and personalize their stations. Apple offers professionally curated stations and, in this way, helps you discover music you've never heard before. In the short amount of time that iTunes Radio has been functioning, it has developed a long list of benefits for users. But like any competitor, it has its disadvantages too.

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The Good

One word: free. That's all it costs to stream with iTunes Radio, which is probably the most prominent advantage of using it. Surprisingly, very few competing streamers can claim that they offer a free version. But that's about the only option Apple does provide. Supported by advertisements, iTunes won't charge you a cent for streaming with them. And even if you do want to get rid of the ads, you only have to pay $25 per year for iTunes Match-an extremely low price compared to most ad-free services. Through iTunes Radio, users have access to a variety of stations composed of individual songs. Rather than being able to listen to a full album on-demand, like you can do with Spotify, iTunes suggests individual songs instead. You can also create radio stations based off of your favorite artists, genres, or songs. iTunes's music library is quite impressive too. With approximately 43 million songs to choose from, including both new releases and even some pre-releases, you're sure to find the songs you love most. That's one of the biggest libraries of any music streaming company out there. Apple also offers a variety of features that allows iTunes to personalize your stations and make your experience much more convenient:

Even though you can't listen to most full albums on-demand, "First Plays" is a feature that allows you to listen to the entirety of select albums before you purchase them so you can decide whether you like them.
As you listen, you can use the buttons "Play More Like This" or "Never Play This Song" to let iTunes know your preferences.
There's a setting to hide explicit content so you can keep your stations family-friendly.
You can specify whether you want your station to play mostly top hits, unfamiliar independent songs, or a variety of both. In this way, iTunes Radio serves as both a resource for your familiar favorites and a means for you to discover new tunes.
The "History" feature shows every song you've listened to on your account. If you want to remember the name of that song you jammed to last week, all you have to do is pull up this tab to find it.
The "Wish List" feature is how iTunes Radio lets you make purchases. As you listen to songs, you can add the ones you love to your list and then buy them with the click of a few buttons.
Like other Apple products, Siri functions with iTunes Radio and will pull up songs you ask to listen to. You can share what you're listening to through social media like Facebook, Twitter, AirDrop, Mail, and Messages.

Last but not least, iTunes works with a variety of devices, including your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV. That bodes well for the avid Apple fan because, like all other Apple products, iTunes Radio functions easily on the other equipment you've invested in.

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The Bad

Truth be told, however, Apple has a reputation for being somewhat restrictive. You can only use Apple products with other Apple products. For instance, iTunes tracks can only be played through iTunes and on devices like your iPod, not just any old device you have lying around. The same holds true for iTunes Radio. It functions primarily through iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches, etc. So if you haven't invested in one of those products and don't plan to anytime soon, iTunes Radio will prove to be a dead end for you. And despite the wonderful virtue of being a free service, iTunes Radio also comes with ads. Because you don't have to pay for a subscription, Apple gets paid by sponsors instead. And that means commercials will come on every few songs to disrupt your listening experience. Along with that, there aren't nearly as many perks as you'd get with a paid subscription. In particular, iTunes Radio doesn't provide on-demand listening and only lets you skip six songs every hour (and only lets you skip, not fast-forward through, a song you don't like). In addition, don't expect any offline listening. Any downloading you do will be for tracks you pay for; it's not included for offline mode later on. Another limitation with iTunes Radio is that it's not nearly as global as most competitors. It currently reaches only the United States and Australia, which might make it harder for you to take your music with you when traveling-or to use it at all if you plan to live in any other country.

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The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, iTunes Radio is one of the few free music streaming services out there-and that speaks for itself, especially in today's economy. So even though their perks are much less glamorous than most companies, iTunes is still a strong competitor because of its unbeatable price and vast music library. If you plan to give Apple a try, keep in mind that they're still new to streaming music and you might run into restrictions as far as the devices you stream your music through. As long as you're good with that, you'll enjoy navigating their intuitive features, listening to personalized stations, and discovering new music-all at a wonderful price.

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User Reviews

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4.3

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104 Reviews

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Hank Ricardo

I love the hosted radio shows, and I'm so happy they're folding it into the Podcasts app. Notifications and shows on demand were two of the things I've pinned for since I signed up. So easy to use and navigate.

5 months ago

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Nyla C. Edison, NJ

iTunes is a platform that I have been using since 2010. It has allowed me to download and stream music on multiple devices, without any difficulties. One thing that stands out with iTunes, is that they offer different apps such as the App Store and Apple Music which all allow access to my music and apps without having to pay again.

3 years ago

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Eddie Rios Ogden, UT

iTunes Radio is likely the most comprehensive music service. They have it all. Even the rarer stuff is easily available. If you like music, and I do, iTunes is the tool you need to deliver your favorites! I stream non-stop, and iTunes can keep up without issue.

4 years ago

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Alicia Mesa, AZ

I have really enjoyed my experience with using iTunes Radio. I love that they change the music on the stations regularly to create a new experience each time I listen! I really love the variety, yet I can find things I enjoy and the songs that I want to listen to. I would definitely recommend this service to others.

2 years ago

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Trent Ewing Round Lake, IL

I’ve been a paying customer for iTunes Radio for a couple years now and it’s been great! I love that I can switch between the radio and my library while adding songs I enjoy directly to my library from the station I’m listening to.

3 years ago

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Kaitlyn Rios Ogden, UT

iTunes Radios is the best radio option out there. I like the simplicity and clean tools to use while listening to internet radio. They have low cost subscriptions and the tools are user friendly. I can listen to music for hours!

4 years ago

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Zac Cannon Long Beach, MS

I love using iTunes Radio when I just want to listen to random music and learn about new artists. I completely switched from Pandora to iTunes quickly thanks to better service and iTunes picks better music for their stations.

4 years ago

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Mickey Mangum Long Beach, MS

I listen to iTunes Radio quite a lot with my apple Music subscription. The stations are able to be selects based off an artist or genre and the content is delivered seamlessly and at a high quality. And you can skip songs you don’t like. You can also download songs for later. Great service.

4 years ago

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Kaydence Bonino Riverton, UT

We had Itunes radio for a few months and loved it! We were able to share it on family sharing for only one monthly payment. The only reason we ended up canceling was because we have amazon prime music and its free with our amazon prime membership.

5 years ago

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Ted Johnson Pleasant Grove, UT

I love iTunes radio. They have an amazing assortment of music for anyone and it is easy to use along with my iPhone and Apple Music. I like that I can get what I want at anytime of the day or night and play it over and over again if I want.

5 years ago

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JAKE American Fork, UT

I have used iTunes radio for a while and I really like it. Its really fun to be able to listen to new music without having to buy the entire album. Some of my kids also have access to our iTunes radio and they love it as well. Theres some fun songs for many ages.

5 years ago

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Brennan Orem, UT

I have had a great experience with iTunes Radio and will continue to use it. The service is awesome for the money and very reliable. I have dealt with customer service and they are very helpful. I would recommend iTunes Radio to anyone looking into it.

5 years ago

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Kristiane R Durfey Pleasant Grove, UT

I enjoy Itunes radio with a little bit of hesitation tho. It has any genre you can think of to listen to and has a great rotation of songs but you have to be careful because explicit songs are allowed and just rotate through. I wish they would make a way for us to choose if we want to allow explicit music to play on our station or not. If they would do that I would give them 5 stars.

5 years ago

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Erika American Fork, UT

I really like ITunes Radio. My husband and all my kids use it as well. They really like being able to listen to all different types of music. Its especially nice if there is a new song out that they want to listen to on repeat. Theres a lot of fun songs for kids on it as well.

5 years ago

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Katie Kearney Vienna, VA

When I had my iPhone I loved using iTunes! It was my favorite part about having an apple phone. Music is great and I never had any complaints about it. I moved to an Android and so I use Pandora a lot now but to any one using an iPhone, I would recommend using the iTunes radio!

5 years ago

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Brayden D. Gilbert, AZ

I love listening to music and iTunes has always been my personal favorite because they have every song in the world, it is very organized and easy to use, and it has almost every song with a clean version so I can enjoy the music with my family. It’s perfect!

6 years ago

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Cade Boudreaux , FL

I love iTunes radio. The algorithm to mix music is far superior than any other app I have personally used. I’ve used this app for over 10 years and I’m very satisfied.

4 years ago

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Larson Riverton, UT

iTunes Radio has great music. I love listening to their music because it makes me feel so happy especially when I am stressed out. I recommend listening to iTunes Radio.

4 years ago

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Ron Durfey Orem, UT

I really enjoy my iTunes Radio but I do NOT like the monthly cost. I feel like there are better and cheaper options to this service but I feel like I'm trapped as I own several Apple products and love how easy it is to access this service on all devices.

2 years ago

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CJ Milke Olney, MD

I live by iTunes Radio. Their service is the best service for radio. Their streaming is a little bit glitchy so I recommend using another service for streaming, but their radio service is just as good as any premium music services.

3 years ago

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Emily Marlowe American Fork, UT

The platform that is used is very user friendly, and after only a short time using it, it quickly caught on to the songs I like best and then it chooses songs for me that it thinks I may like. Great platform! Great music!

3 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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brandon wilkins West Valley City, UT

I did a free trial of iTubes radio for several months. I loved the selection and library of available music. Ultimately there are so many options that are available when it comes to managing music and I felt there were better options out there.

3 years ago

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Patrick Curry Salt Lake City, UT

Love that I can download music for a minimal fee instead of buying the whole CD. It's been great using and I love that I can even upload my own music and share my lists with friends

4 years ago

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Shante Reeder Ogden, UT

This is my favorite way to listen to music! I love all of the "essentials" play lists, as well as how easy it is to find a song based on a lyric! Streams really well, and perfect for any type of music lover.

4 years ago

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Rocio Diaz Tallahassee, FL

Just as expected from Apple, iTunes Radio beyond excels. They create radio stations catered for you from your previous music searches and also you can connect to the local radio stations.

4 years ago

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Michelle W Coraopolis, PA

With my Mac at work, it is so easy to turn on iTunes Radio and listen to music without creating a playlist or creating a queue. It plays new music that I actually enjoy, and I hear the latest stuff without searching for it.

4 years ago

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Reese Pleasant Grove, UT

I have used iTunes radio is great for my iPhone, Apple watch, and Airpods. They have so many songs, over 50 million, plus my iTunes library. I can set it up especially for me and my likes. There is nothing better.

5 years ago

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Shaylee Provo, UT

iTunes radio is nice especially when you have the family plan. It is easy to create shared playlists with your family members and share all of the same music. It is also nice to be able to follow others. I enjoy that they have playlists you can browse through to find new music. Application has always ran smoothly for me.

5 years ago

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Chris Alonzo Gilbert, AZ

My family loves iTunes, we have a family plan that is very affordable and everyone can enjoy the music they love. We are definitely pleased with the service and the variety of music.

6 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Michael Lyman Salt Lake City, UT

iTunes Radio is not the greatest. I used it for a long time because I have many apple products and love them. But it is so buggy I couldn't stand using it anymore. I ended up opening an account with Spotify and paying the extra just so I could reliably listen to the music I wanted to. Maybe it's just the combination of my phone service and iTunes Radio that doesn't work well, because my friends all really like it. But it just goes out all of the time and it's really annoying.

7 years ago

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Shon Scoville Lehi, UT

from music to podcasts, i can get almost any thing I want with iTunes radio. It is easy, free and as long as you can deal with commercials, it is a great service.

2 years ago

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Kaylee Gay Columbia, MO

iTunes Radio has such a variety of songs that you are never bored with your choices. They have so many different genres that there is something for everyone. Our family loves how easy it is that the 10-year-old can use it!

3 years ago

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hminfo Olney, MD

I like iTunes Radio for the variety and the free offerings of select music. It gives me the ability to try out different songs and stations that I may not have tried.

3 years ago

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Picnicky82 Logan, UT

I like using iTunes Radio. One downside is that if I listen for an extended period Of time sometimes the music repeats. I find that odd with the number of songs available. Other than that I absolutely love it.

4 years ago

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Kenzie Comstock Woods Cross, UT

I have used iTunes radio for over a year now and I have really enjoyed it! They have an amazing selection of songs. I listen to it when I'm out for a run or working.

4 years ago

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Juliann Mecham Managua, MN

I love ITunes Radio. It never disappoints with my options of music and how I can change up my style of music. Because at different times I like different types of music, and ITunes Radio caters to what I need

4 years ago

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Whitney Stanko Smithfield, UT

Nice when you are wanting a variety of music and you don't want to worry about choosing the music. Streams pretty well. Love the different stations as well.

5 years ago

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Rylie Crandall Draper, UT

I love iTunes Radio for streaming music because they are good at grouping music together for a cohesive listening experience. I like how you can skip songs freely.

5 years ago

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Brenda Spanish Fork, UT

I really love my iTunes Radio account. Its cheap and lets me play whatever music I want. I can create playlists and its simple to use. I only wish they offered the radio version of songs.

5 years ago

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BLF Pleasant Grove, UT

One of my favorite places to go when I want to stream music. It has a wide variety of sons and they download quickly so I can listen to them within seconds.

5 years ago

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Tracey Hazel Orem, UT

I really like all of the options for the type of stations you can listen to. Even in each genre there are a wide variety of choices. And you can skip as many songs as you feel like!

5 years ago

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Kevin Damian ,

Respect this service a lot as it offers at normal price - unlimited access for licensed versions of my favourite music

3 years ago

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Ronald Kemp

My experience with I tunes has always been excellent- they have a good inventory of songs and its easy to download

6 years ago

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Vy Ha Tallahassee, FL

I like how iTunes is different from other streaming companies where they have their own individual artists that make their own music and they help fund their careers for

2 years ago

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Paige C Riverton, UT

Sort of works like pandora. Algorithms for music choices make no sense. I use the radio to find new music and all I get is a list of songs I've already downloaded. Also, song lists are VERY repetitive. Why can't I delete old stations I made? however there are numerous podcasts to choose from ranging from self-help to mystery to political.

3 years ago

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TTeep Smithfield, UT

I've used iTunes only twice. For some reason it seems like they don't play the songs I'm really interested in, so I end up using Pandora instead. Overall not a bad service though.

3 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Taylor Larson 10

I like iTunes Radio because it’s free for me to use and I feel like the ads don’t take away from the listening experience.

3 years ago

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Tony Riverton, UT

I don't use this as much now that I have Spotify, but iTunes Radio was great to use and has just about every song you can think of.

4 years ago

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Tiauna Anderson Sandy, UT

I recently added iTunes radio to my streaming services and I love it! It syncs well to my current library and the app is user friendly. I definitely recommend!

4 years ago

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Logan Hudson Norcross, GA

I use Apple Music as well as Itunes radio. I can say they both match quality as well as selection. Itunes radio plays my favorite playlists and streams at high quality.

4 years ago