Advertising site AdAge reports that iTunes Radio will make its U.S. debut in September with several big name brand partners, including McDonald’s, Nissan, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble and possibly more.
The brands have agreed to advertise with Apple’s new service for 12 months. Each advertising partner will receive exclusivity within its respective industry until 2014, when iTunes Radio will widen its partnerships with brands.
The service will run audio and video ads across any device capable of hosting iTunes, ranging from the iPhone to Apple TV, and will be ad free for users who purchase Apple’s cloud storage service iTunes Match for $24.99 a year.
Internet radio giant Pandora will pose the biggest competition to iTunes Radio with mobile ad revenues that are expected to increase 43 percent each year, rising from $376 million in 2013 to $539 in 2014.
iTunes Radio hopes to differentiate itself from other streaming services by allowing users to buy music. The service will include a purchase button next to every song in an effort to have users add to their iTunes library.
iTunes radio was announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference on June 10.
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Michael Smith is the Operations Manager at MusicRow Enterprises, where he works in the sales and editorial departments, and manages MusicRow's CountryBreakout Chart. He holds a BA from Vanderbilt University. Please send feedback to msmith@musicrow.comView Author Profile
