Apple Closes New iRadio Deals, Pushes For June 10th Launch
Apple's push to launch a Pandora-like internet radio service is finally gathering some steam and could launch next week, according to multiple reports. Over the weekend, Warner's music and publishing divisions both signed on. Universal's record music division completed it's deal weeks ago, but UMG Publishing, along with Sony music and publishing remain holdouts.
Nicknamed by the press as iRadio, Apple is said to be pushing to announce the new music service at it's annual developers conference, which begins June 10 in San Francisco, according to the New York Times.
Apple is asking labels for more on-demand features than Pandora, according to The Verge, along with a similar rate structure.
With Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, Rapsody, Slacker and others already serving tens of millions, Apple is a late entry into music streaming. But with as many as 500 million user, a "radio" option inserted into the powerful Apple eco-sytem could be an instant gamechanger.
More on-demand features??? They can’t be that stupid, or have they just lost interest in selling downloads? As a company that represents and manages artists it is getting to the point why even bother to record new music if we’re not going to get paid to do so? This is crazy!