14 DAY TRIAL // Bloomberg has it on file from Apple connects that iRadio will debut next week at WWDC and that the company is training employees to roll out the service later this year.
The publication reports that “Engineers and sales staff in Apple iAd business have been charged with supporting the new digital-radio service, which the company plans to debut as early as June 10 at its annual developers conference,” citing people familiar with the matter.
Although Apple is struggling to sign all the major music labels before the WWDC unveiling of iRadio, the service “won’t be publicly available until later this year, when Apple’s iOS 7 mobile-operating system is released,” one of the people reportedly said.
In other words, don’t expect iOS 7 to be available for your iPhone or iPad next week.
WWDC is set to kick off June 10 with a keynote address by Tim Cook and other Apple executives (hopefully Jony Ive too). The event promises to yield several exciting announcements, including iOS 7, OS X 10.9, and a range of new Macintosh computers.
As far as iRadio is concerned, Apple has been pushing hard to sign deals with the likes of Universal, Warner, and Sony. The latter is playing hard to get, according to the latest industry chatter.
As noted by Bloomberg, Apple will combine iAd with iRadio, in order to monetize the service with advertising companies including Omnicom Group Inc.
Apple reportedly wants to “secure brands that will run campaigns on the radio service,” one person said.
iRadio will reportedly compete directly with Pandora, a well-established music streaming service whose shares have (unsurprisingly) taken a hit, amid rumors of Apple making a new foray in the music scene.
Also noted in the lengthy report is that iRadio “will stream songs based on a user’s tastes,” meaning it’s Genius-enabled.