Apples iTunes Radio worth getting excited about

Did we really want a Spotify rival from Apple rather than simply this Pandora rival?

All-you-can-eat subscription services are the Next Big Thing when it comes to digital content and we're certainly spoiled for choice. If you're after movies and TV shows then Quickflix offers plenty to watch for a flat rate of around $15 per month (or you might bluff your way into US-only services such as Netflix and HuluPlus). For another $10 or $15 per month you can listen to thousands of albums from the likes of Spotify, Rdio, MOG, Deezer, JB HiFi Now and Songl (as well as US services such as Rhapsody and Google Play). The gadget makers are also in on the action, with subscription services such as Xbox Music Pass, Sony Music Unlimited and Samsung Music Hub.

Cupertino is holding back because it simply makes too much money from selling music to give it all away for a few bucks per month.

It seems the industry giants are falling over each other to offer us all-you-can-eat content services, although none are perfect and it's frustrating how much content is still missing even from the US-only services. But Apple is holding out on offering a flat-rate all-you-can-eat subscription service. You might argue that it's still negotiating the rights deals, but it's hard to believe that this hurdle alone is holding Apple back when it has so much bargaining clout and others have already struck similar deals. I'd say Cupertino is holding back because it simply makes too much money from selling music to give it all away for a few bucks per month. Instead it's focused on more limited offerings to make sure you keep buying music from the iTunes store.
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