On Jan. 29, Apple will discontinue its ad-supported iTunes Radio station service and rolled into Apple Music as a feature addition. Moving forward, Beats 1 will serve as the company’s only premier on-demand streaming radio.
Since 2013, iTunes Radio was available to all iTunes users and had numerous stations from across all genres and artists that were free. Shutting down iTunes Radio as a standalone product could have to do with their strategy to boost Apple Music subscribers. To date, they have reportedly reached 10 million.
Currently, an Apple Music subscription costs $10 a month.
You can read the full e-mail that was sent out to iTunes customers, below.
"As a listener of ad-supported radio on Apple Music, we want you to know that it's being discontinued on 29 of January. Beats 1 will now be the premier free broadcast so you'll continue to get all the best music and culture there with world-class DJs like Zane Lowe and specialty programming from artists like Dr. Dre, Drake, Pharrell Williams and more.
Additionally, with an Apple Music membership, you can access dozens of radio stations like Charting Now, Pop Hits and all the genres you love -- handcrafted by our team of music experts, commercial-free with unlimited skips. Or you can create your own stations based on your favorite songs and artists. Start your Apple Music membership now and enjoy unlimited access to everything radio offers along with the entire Apple Music catalogue."
