APPLE SAID SET TO EXPAND iTUNES RADIO OUTSIDE U.S. TO CANADA, BRITAIN

Apple Inc. plans to expand iTunes Radio to Englishspeaking countries outside the U.S. by early 2014, beating industry leader Pandora Media Inc. to the U.K. and Canada, people with knowledge of the situation said. ITunes Radio is also set to start early next year in Australia and New Zealand, where Pandora already operates, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Nordic countries are also being targeted in the same time frame, the people said. Apple is moving faster than Pandora because it forged agreements for international rights with Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group and other record companies, said one of the people. Pandora, which doesn’t have such deals, relies on rights granted by government entities, limiting service to the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment. Pandora, Apple and rival offerings from Spotify Ltd. and Rdio Inc. let customers listen to a mix of songs based on their musical tastes.