iTunes Radio heading to more countries early next year?

iTunes Radio
iTunes Radio broadcasts further around the world.

When we first heard that iTunes Radio would only be releasing in the US a few months back, those of us not living in Apple's homeland were disappointed, not knowing when or even if we'd get to try out the new music streaming offering.

But now, sources have purportedly said that it will be expanding to other regions sometime in early 2014, including the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

According to the report from Bloomberg, the plans are not "public" yet, which means that with no official announcements out of Cupertino so far, "early 2014" could be changed to "later 2014" – or worse yet, not at all.

Radio wars

Apple's iTunes Radio lets users listen to endless musical streams based on their music tastes, with the option to buy in for an ad-free experience.

In the US, that's an extra $25, but charges maybe be different for different regions depending on rights agreements.

The whole thing is also deeply integrated into iOS 7, likely providing a smoother experience than a third party app.

iTunes Radio will be going up against the likes of Rdio and Spotify, which like iTunes, also gives you the option to buy tracks or albums - but it poses the biggest threat to Pandora and other radio-only apps.

Though available in Australia, New Zealand and the US, Pandora still has no presence in the UK or Canada.

This is because while Pandora has to rely on rights granted by government entities, which limits its services, Bloomberg's source said that Apple already has agreements for international rights with Universal Music Group and other record companies.