iHeartMedia to launch twin Spotify rivals early next year
iHeartMedia has firmed up plans to enter the competitive music streaming business early next year after signing deals with two major labels to license content from first quarter 2017.
The licenses cover not one but two streaming services; iHeartRadio Plus and iHeartRadio All Access which aim to offer mid-tier and premium services for a subscription fee of $5 and $10 per month respectively.
Unlike the likes of Spotify however iHeartMedia will offer hundreds of ‘live’ local radio stations alongside streamed content, as well as podcasts and digital ‘Pandora-style’ radio – a rival service which also offers a free tier in which listeners can skip forward and backwards so long as they agree to watch video advertising.
In its current guise the iHeartradio app boasts 90m registered users who can access 850+ live local radio stations.