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iRadio: tracking Apple's attempt to build the iTunes of streaming music

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Apple has been rumored to be working on building a streaming music service that would finally bring iTunes in line with the times. Commonly referred to as "iRadio," it is expected to be a little different than its eventual competitors. But Apple is clearly making moves. Industry sources have told The Verge that Cupertino has locked up deals with major records labels, and that it could make its debut as early as the company's World Wide Developer Conference on June 10. Whenever iRadio does show up, it'll be jumping into a flood of competition — from startups such as Pandora, Rdio and Spotify to major tech players like Microsoft's Xbox Music and Google Play Music All Access. Despite this being an overcrowded space, no one service is dominating streaming music the way Netflix dominates streaming video. In other words, iRadio still has a chance to be something big by leveraging the strength and ubiquity of iTunes.