Apple on Monday launched its iTunes Radio service officially in Australia – the first ever region to get iTunes outside of the United States.
The company announced the availability of the service on devices running iOS 7, PCs and Macs with the latest version of iTunes in a press release sent out to the Aussie media.
Apple’s Eddy Cue said that launching iTunes Radio worldwide is the top priority for Apple, with the ultimate aim of having the service “in more than 100 countries.”
The company claims that iTunes music streaming service will get smarter over time as it will learn from the users’ listening habits and personal collection on iTunes. Apple has also promised its users exclusive music via its First Play initiative that is expected to give iTunes Radio a small edge over its rivals.
Apple’s iTunes Radio was announced in June and was launched in September last year. Within a month of its launch, Cupertino claimed that the service has streamed more than 1 billion songs to over a million users.
It has been long rumoured that iTunes Radio will launch in the UK, New Zealand, Canada and Australia in the first quarter of 2014 and with Australia out of the way, users in other countries may soon get a taste of service as well.
iTunes Radio in Australia, similar to US, is supported by advertisements. But, iTunes Match subscribers can forgo ads with Apple’s AU$34.99 per-year cloud music storage service that syncs a user’s library via iCloud, allowing the users to access their music from virtually anywhere.
