Apple Developing Pandora Competitor, Could Launch This Year

Apple is developing a Pandora-like music streaming service that could launch in a "matter of months", according to both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. The ad supported service will stream via  a pre-installed app to the full spectrum of Apple's hardware. PC users may get desktop access. According to the reports, Cupertino has toyed with a paid music subscription service similar to Spotify, but that appears to have been back-burnered for now.

Rather than working with SoundExchange, Apple is reportedly seeking licences direct with labels that would allow for additional interactivity and more frequent song play than it's competitors.  “Apple’s bid for a radio-streaming service might be a defensive measure against the growing popularity of Pandora and Spotify,”  Megan Guess wrote on Ars Technica. Despite Apple's reach the new service may she  “be a guaranteed money maker for the company,” according to Glass. After all, Pandora has yet to make a profit.

Apple has scheduled a major press event for September 12th. It's unclear if any hint of this new music service will be announced then.