On the other hand, iHeartRadio Plus is a lower-priced service meant to bridge the gap between your existing on-demand music subscription and listening to terrestrial radio.
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Now, iHeartRadio, which is widely considered the most direct competitor of Pandora, appears to be following suit with its own on demand streaming service.
The new features were developed based on listener feedback on how the company could make iHeartRadio better and make radio more interactive.
IHeartRadio has launched two new subscription options as it looks to grow its online business as a complement to its existing dominance of the USA radio scene.
“If somebody thinks it feels like Spotify or Apple Music, then we’ve failed”, Pittman said in an interview last week.
It’s all good news for the record business, which saw significant growth this year for the first time in almost 20 years thanks to the streaming. iHeart’s announcement is part of a “race to the middle” – offering listeners products at $4.99 per month instead of the now-standard $9.99 in order to capture revenue from more casual fans – and the result will likely be increased growth for the recording industry.
iHeartRadio has reached license agreements with Warner Music Group, Sony Music Group and Universal Music Group, and in addition has signed agreements with independent record labels and distributors including The Orchard, Entertainment One, INgrooves, DashGo, Naxos and CD Baby.
Once maligned, streaming subscription services have become the saviors of the music world, helping to pull the industry out of a steep decline.
“For decades radio has remained the No. 1 medium to reach consumers, fostering a sense of community and engaging listeners through entertaining on-air personalities and curated music and content”, said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, in a press release. “These new services will open up the choice of experiences that iHeart offers music fans, while providing our artists and songwriters with a wider range of commercial and marketing opportunities”. “We are excited to see what this opportunity will bring, both for our clients and for the industry as a whole”. No, we’re not talking about Pandora-this time it’s iHeartRadio’s turn.
Unlike the likes of Spotify however iHeartMedia will offer hundreds of “live” local radio stations alongside streamed content, as well as podcasts and digital “Pandora-style” radio – a rival service which also offers a free tier in which listeners can skip forward and backwards so long as they agree to watch video advertising.
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Last month, it surpassed 90m registered users – up from the 80m it announced back in January.
