Apple Music Radio expanded its reach beyond its own app for the first time, partnering with digital radio platform TuneIn to distribute six curated radio stations to 75 million monthly active listeners starting Wednesday, according to a new report.
Losing ground to Spotify, Apple partners with TuneIn to stream radio stations
The strategic alliance with TuneIn represents Apple’s latest effort to regain ground in the increasingly competitive music streaming market, according to The Wall Street Journal. This follows Tuesday’s news that the Apple Music integration tool rollout expanded to users in the United States and eight other countries. That tool lets users easily transfer their music libraries from services like Spotify to Apple Music.
Apple Music’s U.S. market share declined from 30% in 2020 to 25% by the end of 2024, while rival Spotify’s share grew to 37% over the same period, according to MIDiA Research data.
Radio stations reach new audiences
Under the new partnership, Apple’s radio stations — flagship station Apple Music 1 (previously Beats 1), plus Apple Music Hits, Apple Music Country and the recently added Apple Música Uno, Apple Music Club and Apple Music Chill — will become available to TuneIn’s global network of connected home speakers and cars.
This marks the first time Apple Music content has been distributed outside the company’s ecosystem. The San Francisco-based TuneIn platform already hosts content from major broadcasters like iHeartMedia, NPR, ESPN Radio and C-Span, along with international broadcasters worldwide.
TuneIn CEO Richard Stern said Apple approached the company about a potential collaboration around the end of last year, according to the report. The partnership will feature Apple Music links prominently within TuneIn’s app and website, allowing users to easily sign up for the service.
Streaming wars intensify
The Apple-TuneIn partnership comes as competition in the music streaming industry reaches new heights, with platforms expanding beyond traditional audio to include video podcasts, live streaming and other multimedia content. Spotify has been particularly aggressive in diversifying its offerings, investing heavily in podcast content and experimenting with new formats to differentiate itself from competitors.
Apple Music’s challenge has been compounded by its subscription-only model, which lacks the free, ad-supported tier that has helped Spotify attract new users. While Apple regularly offers extended free trials, the company has struggled to convert these temporary users into long-term subscribers.
Spotify’s freemium model has proven effective at drawing users into its ecosystem before converting them to paid plans, despite the free model’s limitations. Those include fewer song skips, restricted playback control, lower audio quality and no offline listening.
Market share battle
The streaming music landscape has become increasingly consolidated around a few major players, all offering access to essentially the same catalog of music. This commoditization has made differentiation challenging, forcing companies to compete on user experience, pricing and distribution reach rather than exclusive content.
Apple’s decision to partner with TuneIn signals recognition that its closed ecosystem approach may be limiting growth potential. By leveraging TuneIn’s established presence in connected devices and automotive systems, Apple aims to introduce its radio programming to audiences who might not otherwise encounter Apple Music content.
Future implications of Apple partnership with TuneIn
Whether this partnership will meaningfully impact Apple’s market position remains to be seen. The company has historically struggled with music service adoption despite the popularity of its hardware products. Unlike Apple’s exclusive TV content that drives subscriptions to Apple TV+, music streaming services largely compete on convenience and discovery rather than unique content offerings.
The TuneIn collaboration may signal broader changes in Apple’s streaming strategy as the company seeks new ways to compete with Spotify’s continued growth. Industry observers will be watching closely to see if this distribution experiment leads to measurable subscriber gains or influences Apple to consider additional partnerships beyond its traditional ecosystem boundaries.
Both Apple and TuneIn declined to provide immediate comment on the partnership details or future expansion plans.
