14 DAY TRIAL // More news on Apple’s rumored iRadio service (which may, in fact, not be an iRadio at all). According to two people familiar with Apple’s negotiations, the Cupertino giant is close to signing deals with music labels for a summer launch.
CNet cites two people familiar with the situation, reporting that “Apple is close to striking a streaming deal with two of the major music labels that could end up far sweeter for the music industry than what the labels currently get from Pandora.”
Apple wants to pay the labels “a per-stream rate” that costs half as much as Pandora’s offerings and reportedly offers new revenue streams, through audio ads, and the ability to instantly buy a song you hear, “potentially boosting download sales from iTunes,” reads the report.
iRadio would be an iTunes product and would be deployed on iOS devices.
“But both people caution that the deals have not yet been made and could still fall apart,” the report adds.
Apple has reportedly managed to convince Warner Music and Universal Music Group to pay more attention to the deals, but the Cupertino company still needs to entice Sony Music Group to play ball.
The iPhone maker is pushing for a summer rollout and, despite the fact that iRadio is a moniker invented by the press, Apple is referring to it as a “new streaming service,” in negotiations with the labels.
The service resembles Pandora, according to the same sources, and doesn’t offer on-demand listening.
iRadio will have some unique features, the same sources said, such as “the ability to jump back to the beginning of a song.”
Apple holds its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in summer, making it the ideal time and place for the unveiling of iRadio.
An April event is also rumored for the iPad 5 unveiling. This event is just as likely to be the launchpad for iRadio.