iTunes Radio Threatens Spotify, Not Pandora

Every time the rumor that Apple plans to launch a streaming music service — call it iRadio or iTunes Radio — Pandora’s stock tumbles, hard. However, at least one industry expert thinks that focus is misguided and that Spotify has the most to fear from Apple’s music machinations.

Bloomberg’s Rocco Pendola had a chat with Albert Fried and Company analyst Richard Tullo, who covers Pandora, about who has the most to fear from Apple’s long-rumored iTunes Radio service.

“We think Apple will adopt some Spotify-like features if it can in its iTunes platform as it’s really Spotify which is the direct threat,” says Tullo.

His point being that iTunes and Pandora are compatible services — users can buy iTunes music through Pandora, and the two companies have had a strong relationship for years.

Spotify and iTunes are, however, clearly competitive — people that use one tend not to use the other.

Personally, it wouldn’t surprise me if Apple and Pandora forged a closer alliance, perhaps going so far as to bundle/integrate Pandora with iTunes…

What’s your take?