ITunes Radio To Hit UK, Canada, Australia And More By Early 2014

It has been reported tonight that iTunes Radio, Apples popular Pandora competitor, will be spreading to other countries very soon. This is good news for residents of countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, where the service is currently unavailable.

If this is true, it would mean that Apple would beat Pandora to other English speaking countries such as the UK, since Pandora’s licenses do not cover that area. Bloomberg is currently reporting the expansion of iTunes Radio, and the report is below.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to expand iTunes Radio to English-speaking countries outside the U.S. by early 2014, beating industry leader Pandora Media Inc. (P) to the U.K. and Canada, people with knowledge of the situation said.

Apple is moving faster than Pandora because it forged agreements for international rights with Vivendi SA (VIV)’s Universal Music Group and other record companies, said one of the people. Pandora, which hasn’t struck similar deals, relies on rights granted by government entities, limiting service to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

If this holds true, this could be a huge victory for Apple. Beating Pandora into those countries would be very important for the Cupertino company to grab a firm hold in the market, and could help launch its success in those countries.

Even though it isn’t currently my top music choice (I have a current love of Spotify…free streaming for the win!), I do still occassionally enjoy listening to iTunes Radio. I have recently started to use it more than Pandora, although I think that has more to do with the “new” feeling. Do you prefer Pandora or iTunes Radio? Drop a comment below