Apple Ceases Free iTunes Radio Streaming Worldwide

However, Apple still offers one ad-supported free radio station called Beats 1. The subtext informs the user that in order to keep enjoying iTunes Radio, they will have to purchase an Apple Music subscription. As expected, Apple integrated the ad-supported free music channels into Apple Music on Friday.

Apple had announced earlier this month that its radio feature would come to an end in January.

To continue to listen to these stations, as well as take advantage of the on-demand music streaming option, listeners will need to convert to paid subscribers of Apple Music. Considering that the company rolled out Apple Music in summer 2015, and now has a subscriber-base of 10 million paying users, it seems to be doing considerably well in providing competition to Spotify, with its existing user base of over 20 million.

A derivative of the original Radio feature in iTunes, iTunes Radio launched in 2013 to streamline the feature and assign it a separate brand name.

Even users who are in possession of iTunes Match subscriptions have been herded out of iTunes Radio.

iTunes Radio lives on in Apple Music, but the free ad supported version is gone.

Try to launch an iTunes Radio station on your Apple device or your computer, and you’ll now be prompted to subscribe to Apple Music. However, there is also a free three-month trial for new users who are thinking about making the move.