It seems iTunes Radio has not been luring away listeners from the more established Pandora. This tidbit is from the music streaming service’s CFO Mike Herring who says that since the launch of Apple’s competing service, Pandora has seen an increase in listeners.
We’re not just talking about a fraction of a percent, either. According to Herring, who once called iTunes Radio a “credible threat” to his company, Pandora has seen a 9% increase in listening since iTunes Radio debuted.
Pandora dropped its time limited listening restrictions on free accounts just before the release of iTunes Radio alongside iOS 7. Thus, Pandora listeners could continue to use their existing stations, instead of needing to switch over to another service later in the month.
Pandora has a much larger reach than iTunes Radio, considering that Pandora accounts also work on devices where iTunes Radio does not, such as Android devices and older iOS devices. This acts as an incentive for those users who prefer a consistent experience across all their devices.
