I have to admit that I don’t quite remember the last time I browsed internet radio in iTunes. It’s been so long, in fact, that during research for this post, when I fired up the app on my MacBook I couldn’t even find the radio directory. Lucky for me, this Apple support doc helped me re-add it to my sidebar.
But the results were disappointing, reminding me why I’d stopped using iTunes for radio in the first place. The selection is downright paltry compared to just about any other directory. For instance, only 129 “College/University” stations are listed from around the world–not just the U.S. By comparison, I was able to find well over 500 on TuneIn, and that’s just when I got tired of clicking “see more.”
While Apple has kept up and grown its podcast directory, internet radio–not to be confused with Apple Music Radio–seems like a forgotten artifact. What will happen, then, when Apple kills of iTunes later this year, replacing it with standalone Music, Podcast and TV apps?
In screenshots of the new desktop Music app there’s clearly a “Radio” item in the left sidebar menu. What we don’t know is what kind of radio.
However, my bet is that will be Apple Music Radio, a set of curated stations only available by subscription, likely supplemented by Beats Radio One. The best evidence for this prediction is seen in the iOS Apple Music app. “Radio” is featured prominently in the main menu, but in exploring it one finds just Apple Music stations. The only non-Apple stations are available under “News and Talk” where there is a stingy seven: CBS News, Bloomberg Radio, NPR, Public Radio International, NBS Sports, ESPN and BBC World Service. At least they don’t require a subscription, whatever that’s worth.
I’m probably just being nostalgic in even pursuing this inquiry. It’s not like internet radio is hard to find online in 2019. Yet, back when iTunes debuted in 2001 listening to internet radio still could be a frustrating exercise, with different stations supporting idiosyncratic mixes of player apps and browser plug-ins like RealPlayer, Windows Media Player or WinAmp.
It felt a lot easier to simply browse well organized stations right in iTunes, clicking “play” to hear them right away, without having to search in a browser and then launch an outside app, often to disappointing results. Still, the fact that I clearly hadn’t tried to browse radio in iTunes in who knows how long demonstrates how it’s barely necessary anymore.
Or is it?
It’s true that today we have large radio directory/apps like TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Radio.com. Though the machinations of corporate mergers and break-ups means that none of these is comprehensive. For instance, you won’t find Entercom or CBS stations on TuneIn or iHeartRadio.
It’s not like iTunes was ever comprehensive. On launch the app used the Kerbango Internet Radio directory. Kerbango was a company founded by ex-Apple folks who intended to manufacture the first-ever standalone internet radio receiver. 3Com acquired the company, but in a pre wi-fi era, the $300+ product was a little too expensive and ahead of its time. The company and the directory were shut down in 2001. That left Apple to maintain the directory itself, for better or worse.
In the 2000s, what iTunes lacked in completeness, it made up for in quirkiness. Certainly I could find big major market stations, along with prominent public broadcasters from around the world. But I could just as easily find a community station in Australia or death metal station in Indonesia. Stations were organized primarily by genre and alphabetical order, which made for fun juxtapositions–not unlike browsing an eclectic record collection. You just couldn’t expect to always find exactly what you were looking for. Though you might find something fascinating, nonetheless.
It doesn’t seem like many will miss the feature, anyway. While researching I couldn’t find a single news article mentioning it. That doesn’t mean that nobody is using the iTunes radio tune. Just not enough, it seems.
The bright side to Apple’s neglect is that leaving internet radio out of the desktop Music app will have negligible effect. You’ll still be able to listen to nearly any internet station in the world in your browser, without any annoying plug-ins or extra apps, even on your mobile device. A directory may help when Google searches fail, or vice-versa. But that’s the way with everything on the internet these days, isn’t it?
