Is Pandora Beating iTunes Radio?

Apple recently launched an addition to their popular iTunes that was intended to rival the existing Pandora Radio. Apple created a similar application entitled iTunes Radio that was supposed to provide a radio like experience where a user would input an artist or song and iTunes Radio would provide similar songs for listening.

Although the launch appeared somewhat successful, Pandora still proves to be the leader. According to an article written by Aaron Pressman of Yahoo! Finance, "Pandora listeners average 38.5 minutes per day" while iTunes Radio listeners "tuned in for about 9.5 minutes per day." Apple Radio is still behind compared to Pandora.

After the launch, I decided to try out iTunes Radio although I have been a Pandora user. Although the music selection seemed better than Pandora, offering a wider variety songs, the interface was not easy to use and rather cumbersome. Pandora's fun, attractive interface is much easier to use and more simplistic.

Another player in this space not mentioned is Spotify. I must say, Spotify is my personal favorite. I have more control, yet they can offer suggestions if I want them. In addition, I can have as much or as little music in one place. By far one of my favorite features is the automatic playlist Spotify creates from the radio portion called, "Liked from Radio." Then, I have all the songs I liked in one place in case I want to go back and listen to them.

All in all, the race between these three continues. Who will prevail? What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

-LC

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God and the Devil are in the Details

Ever heard this quote? I certainly have. But what implications does this have upon businesses and brands?

Details. Details. Details. Some people hate them, others thrive on them. Something worth noting is their importance, especially in industries that are cluttered with brands. This article entitled "What if Details Determined Good Communication?" came up on my LinkedIn and caused me to look further into what this means.

The article gives an excellent example of Starbucks. Starbucks' product are nothing special or new. But what Starbucks did was revolutionary: they made coffee personal and a status symbol. Through their attention to detail, from branding every item they sell to writing your name on your drink, Starbucks has forever changed coffee shops. But how they did so was because of their attention to details.

Prime example: their branding. Ever notice how each item Starbucks sells has their logo in the most visible spot? Their logo may be simple, but it is recognizable and well placed. This attention to detail has helped make this company a coffee empire.

So as the companies of today look for ways to differentiate themselves, they should look towards using details to provide touch points and good communication to their customers. Details make all the difference. How do you see details playing out in your world?

Thanks for reading!

-LC

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