What will iRadio bring to the table?

The announcement from Apple that iRadio is on the way - in the States initially - has livened up the seemingly never-ending debate about the future of music distribution. But, for now, all it tells us is that subscription-based streaming is now considered by all the major players to be the future; focused on access rather than ownership.

So what will iRadio provide? Essentially a similar service to established like Deezer, and a gradual move away from the iTunes ownership model when it comes to accessing music.

With that aspect of the debate now more-or-less settled (expect to see less and less music purchases in the iTunes store) the next battle will be which streaming service provides the best customer service. Deezer is focusing on the human touch, with curated recommendations adding to its personalisation. The success of exclusive live EP releases that are specifically targeted to regions (like a recent Little Green Cars exclusive) shows that streaming services can help bring exciting new music to its users. All good news for us as music consumers!