iTunes Radio Pays More Royalties Than Pandora

Many around the tech industry thought that Apple’s long negotiations with record companies leading to its release of iTunes Radio meant that they were trying to get copyright holdings for less. Instead, it turns out that Apple is paying more than its major rival, Pandora – to the tune of $0.13 per song, one cent more than Pandora. As well, Apple is paying out 15% of its advertising revenue over the first year of its contract, and that number will increase to 19% in the second year. Apple is offering music publishers more than twice as much in royalties than Pandora pays, meaning that iTunes Radio has the potential to be much more lucrative for record companies moving forward.