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Apple Caves on Streaming Music Royalty Rates, First Deal to Be Signed Next Week

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The Verge is reporting that Apple is set to strike a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, the largest music label, by next week for its rumored Internet radio service. A deal with Warner Music would follow soon after that, according to The Verge.

Last week, it was reported that Apple was close to wrapping a deal up with Universal Music Group and Warner Music, but no immediate time table was given and it was unclear if any side made concessions on royalty rates.

In early March the New York Post said that one of the sticking points in the negotiations with the labels was that Apple was offering to pay half the royalty rate of Pandora, which was $0.06 per 100 songs streamed. The Verge says that Apple did not succeed in trying to undercut Pandora's rates.
Now, Apple will pay rates nearly "neck and neck" with Pandora, one of the sources said. Because of iTunes huge number of users, the new service is expected to be an immediate threat to Pandora.
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The Pandora-like service is supposed to launch later this year and is set up to help iTunes users discover new music, generate ad sales and boost sales of downloads, according to The Verge.

However, Apple still has to strike a deal with Sony Music Entertainment and music publishers, and talks with those companies are said to not be as far along as Universal Music Group and Warner Music. If Apple is able to agree to a deal with Sony in the next couple months, it could possibly debut iRadio at Worldwide Developers Conference this June.

Article Link: Apple Caves on Streaming Music Royalty Rates, First Deal to Be Signed Next Week
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/11/apple-caves-on-streaming-music-royalty-rates-first-deal-to-be-signed-next-week/
R

R3k

macrumors 68000
Sep 7, 2011
1,509
1,481
Sep 7, 2011
Yay.

One step closer to even the possibility of being able to make a living off producing music....

For most of us.
 
APlotdevice

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
What I'm wondering is will this streaming service be offered through a seperate app or a future version of iOS?
 
lolkthxbai

lolkthxbai

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2011
1,426
489
APlotdevice said:
What I'm wondering is will this streaming service be offered through a seperate app or a future version of iOS?
Click to expand...

Most likely through a new iOS update. Not because they can't do it through a separate app, but because they want everyone that has an iDevice to have the app as well, sort of guaranteeing its success. As long as it doesn't become an iPhone 5S or newer exclusive then im good :cool:
 
x13gamer

x13gamer

macrumors regular
Oct 27, 2006
219
33
Pure Michigan
Am I missing something here? What could possibly make this revolutionary? It just seems like they are playing catch up. Isn't the whole purpose of having your music in iCloud is so that it can be accessed when you want it?
 
K

komodrone

macrumors 6502
Apr 26, 2011
499
0
x13gamer said:
Am I missing something here? What could possibly make this revolutionary? It just seems like they are playing catch up. Isn't the whole purpose of having your music in iCloud is so that it can be accessed when you want it?
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yes, we know the exact details of what this radio thing is going to do.
 
K

KanosWRX

macrumors 6502
Jul 14, 2008
417
396
R3k said:
Yay.

One step closer to even the possibility of being able to make a living off producing music....

For most of us.
Click to expand...

? Huh ? What's that have to do with iTunes Radio? Plus if its not like Spotify I couldn't care less.
 
lolkthxbai

lolkthxbai

macrumors 65816
May 7, 2011
1,426
489
It'd be cool if the songs you "liked" could be saved locally on your device and available for purchase when you aren't connected anymore. That would make good use of that patent that was on here a few days ago.
 
M

Mackan

macrumors 65816
Sep 16, 2007
1,421
91
TheShinyMac said:
First time I've heard of Apple backing down on such an extreme deal.
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They are late to the game. Their normal tactic doesn't work anymore. Now they have to cave in, or they'll end up with nothing to offer, while competitors do. Probably also why you haven't seen a TV content deal yet, either. Now others are coming up, such as Intel, and Apple will be left behind if they can't make deals.
 
JayCee842

JayCee842

macrumors 6502a
Jan 21, 2013
589
0
Sounds good! More than excited for it. By the way, I don't think any other music service is as good as Rdio. They offer the same features as Spotify for the same prices, and I like it much better.

Am I the only one here who uses Rdio?
 
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Sedrick

Sedrick

macrumors 68030
Nov 10, 2010
2,596
26
I've been a subscriber to Spotify since it came to the US and its a fantastic program. Why would I want to start all over with Apples service?
 
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Someyoungguy

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2012
525
905
I just don't know what this is for. I played with Pandora for about a week and got over it when I ran out of "skips". I don't think I ever bought anything.

How many people will want to burn up their data plans for this? I know broadcast radio sucks, but there are college/indie stations that are a free and constant source of new material.
 
Ajones330

Ajones330

macrumors 6502a
Jul 9, 2008
563
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SEC Country
I think they have something up their sleeves if they weren't able to undercut the pricing. Must be pretty big plans so I'm excited to see...
 
D

drewyboy

macrumors 65816
Jan 27, 2005
1,385
1,467
basesloaded190 said:
Spotify-Like > Pandora-Like
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I respectfully completely disagree. I find myself on Pandora almost always compared to Spotify, which I really only use if I want to listen to that 1 song for the 1 artist. Honestly, Spotify is too time consuming with searching. I guess I may find myself in the minority but $10 a month, rip off if you ask me. If I wanted to listen to the same music over and over again I'd turn on the radio.

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Sedrick said:
I've been a subscriber to Spotify since it came to the US and its a fantastic program. Why would I want to start all over with Apples service?
Click to expand...

Because they over way more MILLIONS of songs than spotify does.
 
fruitpunch.ben

fruitpunch.ben

macrumors 6502a
Sep 16, 2008
599
174
Surrey, BC
Don't forget Apple's advantage in this: its content is not required to make money. Sure it does now, but Apple can afford even to lose money on iRadio, so long as overall its content deals break even. For Apple, content exists solely to sell hardware. That gives it the advantage over companies like Pandora and Spotify: they are finding it hard to make money at current royalty rates, Apple doesn't need to. It doesn't even need to play ads during streaming like the free versions of its competitors, I bet the most it will do is use iAd to show them on the screen: much less intrusive than audio ads.
 
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