So comes word that Apple is negotiating with music labels to offer a service that competes with Pandora. Not surprisingly, Pandora’s stock dropped after hours as investors felt their sphincter’s pucker upon hearing the news.

Such news is bound to make Pandora nervous, but it shouldn’t...

... to date, Apple hasn’t amassed a stellar track record in Web services, or social for that matter. Ping was flat out lame. And though it appears to be seldom sued, iTunes does in fact have a radio feature built in. Though I can’t recall meeting any human who has used it, or even referred to it for that matter.

It’s also a head scratcher because it’s not like Pandora has put together a killer business. And it’s tiny. Hardly seems worth the trouble.

But perhaps the oddest thing for me is that if — if — Apple is really thinking about this move, it would seem to be distraction from what would seem to be a far more pressing problem:

Fixing iTunes.

Once so revolutionary, iTunes seems dated now. Yes, it remains one of the most vital and popular pieces of software running on desktop computers. Yes, it has the Genius feature, which is neat.