'Radio Buy' buttons hidden in iOS 6.1 reveal Apple's anticipated Pandora killer

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Files found within Apple's newly released iOS 6.1 refer to an Internet radio service the company is believed to be working on.

radio


The graphics include a logo of an antenna broadcasting a signal, while the file names refer to a "radio buy button." The files were first discovered by graphic designer Austin Smith, who found them after using the newly released iOS 6.1 jailbreak and exploring the system files on an iPod touch.

The resource files found hidden in the iOS 6.1 Music application were last updated on Jan. 9, 2013.

Reports first surfaced last September claiming that Apple was working on a streaming radio service that would rival current offerings like Pandora. Apple was said to be in talks with content owners to license music for a similar Internet-based radio service.

radio


Apple's plans are said to feature virtual stations that will stream music through a Web browser or dedicated apps. The inclusion of the icons in the iOS 6.1 Music application would suggest that Apple's so-called "iRadio" could be built in to the operating system.

Reports from last year suggested that Apple's iAd platform would be leveraged to offer users free access. But the inclusion of "buy" in the file names would imply that Apple could also be exploring a paid subscription option for some of its radio content.

While Apple was reportedly pushing to launch its streaming radio service last year, the iPhone maker was allegedly held back by negotiations with content providers. Specifically, it was said that talks with Sony hit a "last-minute snag," according to the New York Post.

Pandora's streaming radio service provides songs to users based on its own algorithms. But Apple's Internet radio plans reportedly include an "element of promotion," allowing record labels to push certain songs and potentially drive sales.

Bloomberg also revealed last October that Apple's Pandora competitor would allow users with iTunes accounts to "buy tracks as music streams or revisit what they've heard in auto-generated playlists." That report claimed Apple was hoping to launch its radio service by early 2013.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22


    I really don't think this means anything about subscriptions.


     


    iAds to make listening to the music stream for free. If you want to actually buy the music FILE to which you're currently listening (not a subscription at all), you press the button and it buys it in iTunes.


     


    It's just like their system now with the FM radio where you can save track names for buying later in iTunes. Except this you can buy immediately.

  • Reply 2 of 22


    "Rot Row, Astro!" :)

  • Reply 3 of 22


    Do we have to use the "killer" term for everything?  


     


    I would think that an Apple-oriented site would be tired enough of the term after years of hearing about iPod killers, iPhone killers, and iPad killers.  Besides, an Apple radio service is unlikely to "kill" Pandora regardless.  It would likely mean some Pandora users reduce or stop using the service and switch to Apple's instead.  It would likely mean that a lot of people who don't listen to streaming music right now would start doing so.  But why would it kill Pandora any more than Samsung's latest phone will kill the iPhone?

  • Reply 4 of 22
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dakota Kid View Post


    Do we have to use the "killer" term for everything?  


     


    I would think that an Apple-oriented site would be tired enough of the term after years of hearing about iPod killers, iPhone killers, and iPad killers.  Besides, an Apple radio service is unlikely to "kill" Pandora regardless.  It would likely mean some Pandora users reduce or stop using the service and switch to Apple's instead.  It would likely mean that a lot of people who don't listen to streaming music right now would start doing so.  But why would it kill Pandora any more than Samsung's latest phone will kill the iPhone?



     


    Beat me to it! May Pandora and any alternatives that arise all have long lives, giving us maximum choice.


     


    (Side note: Apple is one of Pandora's sources of income: when you buy a track on iTunes via Pandora referral. Which Pandora has strangely made harder to do.)

  • Reply 5 of 22
    Maybe the button is to buy the playing song? Not sure with the radio tower icon and the plus though.. Does look more like buying the station or something strange. Time will tell.
  • Reply 6 of 22
    My guess would be an FM radio player, and capability to buy the song currently being broadcasted?
  • Reply 7 of 22

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dakota Kid View Post


    Do we have to use the "killer" term for everything?  


     


    I would think that an Apple-oriented site would be tired enough of the term after years of hearing about iPod killers, iPhone killers, and iPad killers.  Besides, an Apple radio service is unlikely to "kill" Pandora regardless.  It would likely mean some Pandora users reduce or stop using the service and switch to Apple's instead.  It would likely mean that a lot of people who don't listen to streaming music right now would start doing so.  But why would it kill Pandora any more than Samsung's latest phone will kill the iPhone?



     


    "Besides, an Apple radio service is unlikely to "kill" Pandora regardless." Do we have to use the "regardless" term for everything?


     


    I kid, I kid.....image

  • Reply 8 of 22


    Everyone's focused on Pandora...Spotify is the new king these days. Any track on your time, or radio. 

  • Reply 9 of 22


    That's one fugly icon.

  • Reply 10 of 22
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


    Everyone's focused on Pandora...Spotify is the new king these days. Any track on your time, or radio. 



     


     


    I really don't like Spotify because it is too much work. Pandora has a better interface and exposes me to new music based on my already established preferences. Pandora also pays the artists more. If Apple brings a service out, it had better be at least comparable or better then Pandora. 

  • Reply 11 of 22
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member


    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

    Apple's plans are said to feature virtual stations that will stream music through a Web browser or dedicated apps. 


     


    Streaming radio today.


     


    Streaming television tomorrow.

  • Reply 12 of 22


    I hope Apple gets this right, but lately their services roll-outs have been abysmal. But I haven't yet tried a music subscription service that didn't suck.


     


    Installing the Rdio app on my Mac has been an exercise in futility.


     


    I just can't do Pandora. Up- and down-thumbing tracks ad nauseam is not how I Iike to experience music.


     


    The problem with Spotify is that even synched tracks that are currently not available offline still take up space on your device. The whole point for me with Spotify Premium was to create a large number of Playlists. I could then toggle "Available Offline" to synch only the Playlists that I want synched at any given moment. The way it works, however, is that even Playlists that are not "Available Offline" still reduce available storage on the device. The coding to handle cache purging is faulty. The only way to purge those cached unavailable tracks and free up space is to delete the app (and your Playlists along with it) and re-download the app. Big Fail. Apparently Spotify users have been complainng about this for years. Needless to say, I'm giving up my Premium subscription before the next billing cycle.

  • Reply 13 of 22

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    "Rot Row, Astro!" :)



    If I understand what you're saying, I think you mean George. Or maybe Elroy.

  • Reply 14 of 22
    gustavgustav Posts: 827member
    We don't have Pandora in Canada. Apple has the clout to make it happen.
  • Reply 15 of 22
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    For all we know this is the return of lala.com with the one time free play that could be converted to buying streaming only rights or to download the song. Meld it into all the genius etc stuff. They might even bring back the follow listeners that they tried to use in Ping
  • Reply 16 of 22
    When radio disappeared from iTunes and there was no explanation, I figured that it signaled the next encroachment of media control by Big Brother. Soon, free [I]anything[/I] on the web will be nonexistent. Smile and grab your heels (and your wallet, while you still have it and something to put in it). Enjoy the ever-expanding Walled Garden. It's better than paradise, I tells ya, better than paradise. :mad:
  • Reply 17 of 22


    Originally Posted by oirudleahcim View Post

    When radio disappeared from iTunes and there was no explanation…


     


    Probably because it hasn't disappeared from anywhere.


     



    Soon, free anything on the web will be nonexistent.


     


    Enjoy thinking that. You're wrong, but enjoy thinking it.






    Enjoy the ever-expanding Walled Garden.





    So are you whining about something Apple didn't do or something the Internet as a whole isn't doing? I'm confused.

  • Reply 18 of 22
    elrothelroth Posts: 1,201member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


     


     


    I really don't like Spotify because it is too much work. Pandora has a better interface and exposes me to new music based on my already established preferences. Pandora also pays the artists more. If Apple brings a service out, it had better be at least comparable or better then Pandora. 



    Apple may make interface improvements, but the fact that it will push songs that the record companies want to push means it will suck.

  • Reply 19 of 22


    Originally Posted by elroth View Post

    Apple may make interface improvements, but the fact that it will push songs that the record companies want to push means it will suck.


     


    Yes, let's judge a service that doesn't exist based on content we don't know it will have. image


     


    How do you know you won't be able to stream any song available on iTunes? Do they all "suck"?

  • Reply 20 of 22
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member


    In general radio apps are no good because of the stringent laws on radio streaming. Albums can't be repeated more than X times per hour, the track can't re replayed twice in a row, or more than Y times per hour, and you can only play songs from an artist Z times per hour. Where X,Y and Z are values I forget.


     


     


    Heres the actual rules:


     


     


    In any 3-hour period, we can webcast:



    • No more than 3 songs from one album;

      no more than 2 played consecutively


    • No more than 4 songs from a set/compilation;

      no more than 3 played consecutively


    • No more than 4 recorded songs by the same artist

      (live studio appearances are okay)


     


     


    from http://www.wfuv.org/audio/copyright


     


    Anyways, Apple may have gotten a better deal, lets hope so.


Sign In or Register to comment.