Tag Archives: iTunes

A licensing agreement between Apple and Universal Music Group for the rights to stream audio for the highly anticipated iRadio music streaming service is now apparently ‘imminent’ according to a new report. The Verge suggests that the negotiations have almost reached a satisfactory place for both Universal and Apple and that Warner Music, another major music label, isn’t too far away. The news follows on from previous reports suggesting that the negotiations were moving forward significantly.

Apple is apparently working on an iRadio service much like Pandora and the service is expected to launch later this year once agreements with the multiple music licensing companies have been reached. The company is expected to pay similar royalty rates as Pandora, which are thought to be around 12 cents per 100 hundred songs streamed. This is despite heavy negotiating by Apple for a 6 cents per 100 songs royalty rate.
Continue reading →

The long-rumored iRadio streaming music service from Apple will apparently be launching this summer, according to a new report from The Verge. The company has apparently made some significant progress on negotions with two of the major music labels; Universal Music and Warner. As such, one of the sources from the report have said ‘iRadio is coming. There’s no doubt about it anymore’ noting that Apple is working hard for a summer 2013 launch of the service.

Previous rumors had suggested that one of the reasons that the iRadio service had not launched thus far is because Apple was looking to significantly limit the amount of royalties that it would pay music labels per song played. For example, existing music streaming service Pandora pays around 12 cents per hundred songs streamed, Apple was negotiating on a 6 cents per hundred song rate. This is in contrast to services like Spotify, which pay around 35 cents per hundred songs (although reports suggest that Spotify is looking to lower this rate).
Continue reading →

Apple is apparently in negotiations to launch a long-rumored ‘iRadio’ service, but is looking to pay significantly less royalties for the music than some of its competitors are paying for comparable services. A report from the New York Post is suggesting that one of the ways in which Apple seeks to make its own streaming radio service successful is by offering a royalty rate that is around six cents per one hundred songs streamed. This is around half of the twelve cents per one hundred songs paid by services like Pandora.

In contrast, Spotify, the music service that offers complete on-demand streaming of its music library pays around thirty five cents per one hundred songs served to users. The new Apple service is apparently being targeted as another platform for iAds and was initially supposed to launch alongside the iPhone 5, but complex negotiations have meant that the service is not yet ready for public release.
Continue reading →

A new set of user interface buttons have been found within the latest iOS software which could be the first signs that point towards a possible iTunes music streaming service. The buttons, discovered by 9to5Mac following the jailbreak of an iPad and exploration of the file system, are named in the context of ‘radio button’. Given the appearance and nomenclature of the icons, as well as the lack of a radio streaming service in iTunes, the report suggests that the icons could be representative of an as-yet-unreleased iTunes Streaming service.

The report also points towards the term ‘buy’ in the file name which could point towards potential functionality related to the purchase of music from the streaming service.
Continue reading →

A new report is suggesting that Apple is ‘nowhere near’ the point of launching a new online streaming radio service, contrary to recent rumors suggesting otherwise. The report (via CNET) says that Apple has tried to establish a number of deals with major music companies, including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. However, the company has apparently been less than successful at convincing them about a music streaming services and that agreements are not close to being signed.

The sources for the report suggest that an iRadio service, a term coined to describe Apple’s web music service, is still going to be a long time in development. As such, this new service is likely not going to threaten other streaming companies, like Spotify, Rdio or Pandora, any time soon.
Continue reading →