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As expected, iTunes Radio stations no longer available without an Apple Music subscription

itunes-radio

Apple announced a couple of weeks ago that its ad-supported iTunes Radio stations would no longer be available from today, and they have now gone off-air as expected. Attempting to access them results in a message prompting people to join Apple Music. Free access to Beats 1 remains.

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Comments

  1. florinnica - 8 years ago

    I guess back to spotify it is :D

  2. pdoobs - 8 years ago

    iTunes Match subscriber here. Just wanted to confirm that the only stations I’m able to play are Beats1, ESPN, & NPR even though I’m forced to still have to stupid Radio icon and I get to see the dozens of stations that just fail when I touch the play button. Thanks Apple…

  3. PhilBoogie - 8 years ago

    Fuรงk, I was using that on a regular basis. And since I already have Spotify I don’t feel like switching over. Darn it.

  4. Pastor Jeff - 8 years ago

    And i thought Apple had enough money already…moving on to other sources. :(

  5. rvinny (@rvinny) - 8 years ago

    Not that you’ll care Apple, but I am cancelling my Match subscription now and uploading my library to Google Music. I’ve already moved on to Kindle from iBooks. $4k I spent last year on Apple stuff. If I like it enough in Android land, I might just continue to switch everything. I am that pizzed off.

    • PhilBoogie - 8 years ago

      Well that’s the great thing here: we can choose. I do wonder how the experience will compare to the one you’ve had with Apple gear & services. I think you’re doing “a right thing”.

    • pdoobs - 8 years ago

      you won’t regret the switch. google music is great and the only concern i have about it is that google may abandon it like they occasionally like to do. i’ve tested the android waters a couple times and i always come back for some reason, honestly i think imessage is the only reason i keep coming back. the great thing about google music though is that it works great with iphones, ipads, rokus, androids, etc, so you don’t have to make a decision to switch your os of choice.

  6. Michael Costello - 8 years ago

    Another iTunes Match subscriber here. I called to get a refund (since I only used it for Radio). I had 5 months left which they valued at $10.40. However, they will only give 3 movie rental credits (more than value I had left) or 5 song credits (half the value I had left). No option to just put that money into a gift card on my account. Also, you have to call the iTunes customer service people. Chat people can’t give refunds, apparently.

  7. Angie Mendez - 8 years ago

    So, all the $$ I’ve spent on buying music from iTunes, and I can’t listen to iTunes radio anymore?? You suck Apple!!!

  8. Janet Resting - 8 years ago

    …and…the music app is now off my home screen in a folder along with all the other apple apps you can’t delete.

  9. Erik Aanders - 8 years ago

    Really stupid move by Apple…I actually bought music from them (which I normally hate doing) while listening to the radio app. Whenever I heard a track I liked I would just click the purchase button from my Apple TV; which I found cool and convenient. As a dj who’s constantly seeking out new music, I try to support the artist as much as possible. They will be losing a couple hundred bucks a year from me now, as I have no plans to subscribe…Lets see how long it takes them to reverse this after their accountants figure out they fucked up.

  10. Gina Stevenson - 8 years ago

    So, what happens to my Wish List? Do I get that back when I subscribe, or did they get rid of it?

  11. Madu Akoma - 8 years ago

    WHY

  12. thetekman10 - 8 years ago

    It’s gone from the older Apple TV 3rd Gen even though I’m a subscriber to Apple Music. Still works on the newest 4th gen though. My aunt and grandmother still have older Apple TVs and use iTunes Radio all the time. Even though they are on our Apple Music family plan, they don’t have acces to it.

  13. Doc Rock - 8 years ago

    Very disappointed. I like my Mac but I have a subscription to Spotify. Amazon Music is currently free but not as user-friendly. I have been happy with Spotify and don’t need another music subscription service (Beats1). Although I couldn’t easily useSpotify on Apple TV (no app), I do use it in Roku and Chromecast. iTunes Radio was a big reason I stayed with Apple TV. Now that iTUnes Radio is gone I learned how to play Spotify through my Apple TV using an old iPhone as the source. Works great. I am no longer locked into Apple to listen to music and won’t be buying I songs from iTunes like I did from iTunes Radio. I will not get the next iteration of Apple TV when I upgrade. I do not want to get locked into “Apple Jail”. When I hear a song I like there are many other purchase options to choose from.

  14. Jack (@jaxxzun) - 8 years ago

    I’m not renewing my itunes match subscription as a direct result of your decision to end your radio feature. i have Amazon prime anyway I may as well go ahead and indulge the features it offers. ( way to chase me away, nice going )

  15. Why be loyal to Apple when they are not loyal to us? Love your system but Google is gaining on you fast.

  16. zi29 - 8 years ago

    Then why can’t we delete this app ๐Ÿ™„ It’s useless to me ๐Ÿ™„๐Ÿ˜

  17. Ryan Trenhaile - 8 years ago

    Im a little pissed about this due to the fact that I was paying Apple 24$ a year for commercial free radio. Now they pull it?

  18. Screw it, I’m back with Pandora. I’ve never had any problems with them. I feel like I can find the same stuff on Pandora, unless there’s something better.

  19. Brock Stacey Tibbs - 8 years ago

    iTunes match subscriber here too and I cant play any Radio stations. Dang it Apple!!

  20. Shana Burden - 8 years ago

    Stupid. Won’t ever pay monthly for something Pandora has given me for free for years.

  21. Thanks for letting us know apple – and a good reason for me to make the move to something other than the iphone.

  22. mrwestcott (@mrwestcott) - 8 years ago

    Here is the thing, Apple. I would buy 4 to 5, maybe 6 albums a year, and a few songs I discovered on iTunes Radio. I really liked iTunes. With this new subscription only radio play, you are asking me to spend twice what I would normally spend in music every year. Granted, yes, more music to listen to, but not what I am willing/wanting to do. I will have to explore music somewhere else, and ultimately buy from somewhere else. You are cutting out the middle class, just like all the arrogant aristocratic companies in the US, only wanting to cater the rich. Your $10,000+ watches sure make this clear. I will be looking out for a “Robin Hood” company that will dip into your profits to join. 50 to 60 a year is reasonable, but not 120 a year. It is the same story for XMRadio. Not worth it!

  23. jhuck - 8 years ago

    Pandora people. Back to Pandora. Sick of Apple

    • Dave Sutton - 8 years ago

      Yep… on to Pandora.. And I bought a lot of songs I liked on iRadio from iTunes Store, but no more. Very stupid Apple!

    • Dont know Pamdora, will check it out. Apple have lost their sight as to customer needs.. They don’t listen to or look for feedback anymore, and block any criticism on their discussion forums tioo. If you criticise them on their forums.. Takes about 5 minutes for your post to disappear.

  24. Dan Darnell - 8 years ago

    How the mighty have fallen. So sleazy.

  25. Gabe (@DjGabriel) - 8 years ago

    Wow. What a dumb idea. I’m also a Dj and bought music from iTunes radio all the time. Hey Google and Amazon – what are y’all offering these days? I’m not buying a new Apple TV, matter of fact I may just trade and sell all my apple products and switch to Google and Amazon.

    PS – Apple get your shit together or I’m out along with the rest of my family.

  26. Brenda Hogan Jacobs - 8 years ago

    Oh come on! You can’t take away something we’ve been using for years. We pay for enough crap!!!! Apple you are really beginning to join the 1% greed club!!! We buy computers, phones, iPads, music, apple tv’s and now you do this. You suck!!!

  27. Brenda Hogan Jacobs - 8 years ago

    Oh come on! You can’t take away something we’ve been using for years. We pay for enough crap!!!! Apple you are really beginning to join the 1% greed club!!! We buy computers, phones, iPads, music, apple tv’s and now you do this. You suck!!! I will not renew my Match subscription now and I was going to upgrade my Apple TV but I won’t now.

    • Frank Lazar - 8 years ago

      Would you like the list of all of the services that Google has discontinued? The latest casualties being Google Reader, the Wallet Card, and Picassa? Apple is doing whatever corps usually do… which means serving their bottom line.

  28. Matthew Williams - 8 years ago

    Boo Apple! That was how I discovered new songs to buy and the primary reason I bought an Apple TV. LAME!

  29. Michael Mickey Piette - 8 years ago

    Apple continues to offer an icon in Apple TV that says “Radio”…how are we supposed to differentiate it from your version of “Radio”?

    Apple, your products are too similarly-named. The search to find this post was challenging because the key words are so terrifically generic: “Radio”, “TV”, “Music” (despite being mixed with keywords “iTunes” and “Apple”) are offered in so many contexts that they are almost meaningless for search engines.

  30. Gortea Gregorski - 8 years ago

    Listening to Pandora. Was a long time Apple radio listener and would purchase songs and albums based on what I liked on the free radio service. Not anymore. I flat out reject paying for services that were once free. I don’t need it that bad.

  31. Kyla Kanz - 8 years ago

    WTF. Back to Spotify for me too. Needlessly greedy. And dumb.

  32. Dwight D. Topolinsky - 8 years ago

    Well I’m sooooo glad I’m not an Apple user or a supporter of iTunes. If you wanna buy music, and cheap, try MP3 Million. I have been dealing with them for almost 5 years without any problems. And they have almost every song I could ever want. Most tracks are 10 cents, and often 9 cents per track. Check’em out.

  33. Kiki Ros (@kirtanaya) - 8 years ago

    It’s April 16, 2016 and I found it (Internet Radio) under 3 dots next to the “TV Shows” icon.

  34. aaron690 - 8 years ago

    Suddenly feels the urge to play the iTunes radio, nope. You need a music subscription. Gees Apple, who’s pulling your strings that you’ve lost touch with your clientele. Even iTunes is a horrendous pile of tangent stench. Am looking at alternatives right now… all i wanted to do was listen to that radio.

  35. Guy Hughes - 8 years ago

    This post is 6 months old now.
    But the reason iTunes radio is a pay to play now is because of a lawsuit from the artists. It was not an option after the dispute from several artists saying they were not getting paid from it. Apple had no choice but to make it this way. It was never about money.

  36. Roxanna Brock McDade - 7 years ago

    What about radio stations under my “Library” Subtitled “Internet Songs”?

  37. John Noble - 7 years ago

    So pissed. Went to throw on some holiday tunes and fount this out the hard way. Apple you have let me down again. Going to Spotify.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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