Apple's Streaming Music Service Reportedly Unlikely to Launch Before Third Quarter of This Year

[MacRumors]

CNET continues its coverage of Apple's plans to move iTunes into the cloud with a new report claiming that Apple is unlikely to have its planned music streaming service ready for launch until at least the third quarter of this year.

Music industry sources told CNET this week Apple has informed label managers that a streaming music service is unlikely to be ready before the third quarter.

It will be a disappointment for iTunes fans who have been speculating as to when Apple might use music site Lala--which Apple acquired in December--for its streaming expertise to launch a cloud-based music service.

Apple's acquisition of Lala was seen as a possible move into cloud-based or streaming music services. But rather than a traditional subscription-based streaming service, reports have suggested that Apple may be looking to allow users to move their own libraries to the cloud, where they could stream them to a wide range of devices.

A separate report from CNET earlier this month suggested that Apple was even in negotiations with movie studios to deploy cloud-based video streaming. Today's report claims, however, that Apple "hasn't done much" with regards to film content for the iPad, so users should not expect to see any significant announcements regarding that portion of Apple's iTunes business alongside the iPad launch.

Article Link: Apple's Streaming Music Service Reportedly Unlikely to Launch Before Third Quarter of This Year

 

[iMJustAGuy]

Oh well. I just want a subscription service (Then maybe I could stop using limewire).

 

[GeekLawyer]

lala.com has been pretty nice to use. I am looking forward to the day when all of my media can live in the cloud.

Oh well. I just want a subscription service (Then maybe I could stop using limewire).

I personally have no interest in a music subscription. I like to own my music. TV shows or movies, absolutely. But not so much with music.

 

[Friscohoya]

Limewire. Reminds me of my youth. Anyhow, subscription doesnt mean a lot to me, but cloud access to eliminate the need for large chunks of physical memory woudl be great.

 

[jaw04005]

Third quarter, you say? Just in time for the annual September iPod event.

Apple is going to be busy this year.

 

[DaveGee]

I may have said this before but my spin on this is as follows...

The STUDIOS are not going to PLAY NICE with Apple until such a time when they feel blu-ray is a smashing success and they recoup the mega-millions they invested in the format as well as the WAR.... OR... blu-ray is finally written off as a format that will not fly nearly as well (or as far) as the ALL MIGHTY AND POWERFUL DVD did. The studios have way too much invested... and for them to provide Apple full access to their content at 1080p at any remotely SANE price is simply NOT an option they are wiling to entertain.

Apple CAN make streaming a runaway success provided it had access to the content at prices less than blu-ray and the studios are SCARED TO DEATH of that happening prior to them recouping blu-ray expenses and while money is a part of it... many people put their reputations on the line when they backed blu-ray and they aren't about to let it die at the hand of Apple.

Maybe I'm wrong... but it certainly seems like a good explanation.

 

[zedsdead]

Apple needs a movie and tv show suscription service first. News channels and others like the food network would be cool as well.

 

[ValSalva]

(Then maybe I could stop using limewire).

Hmmm, what is your IP address?

 

[RalfTheDog]

If I could move a (Virtual) copy of all of my iTunes video to an Apple sever, I could save 4GB of HD space I use for backups. I would keep a local copy of everything I have, just to save bandwidth. I just want a cloud copy so I don't need to keep stacking hard drives for Time Machine.

Note: I said virtual copy. I purchased all my non Blu-ray media from Apple. They already have a copy. They already know what I own and what I do not. It would only cost them bandwidth to provide this service and only if I needed to restore my files. Think of this as download insurance.

 

[HiRez]

If Apple is going down this road, it doesn't seem likely they'll open up multitasking to accomodate Pandora anytime soon.

 

[Sugar Grove]

Server Farm

Has anyone heard about the progress of Apple's server farm in North Carolina?
the bought the land last year. I'm curious if the app store,Apple Tv and streaming music will come from there?

 

[cvaldes]

Third quarter, you say? Just in time for the annual September iPod event.

Apple is going to be busy this year.

Who knows which "third quarter" they're talking about (calendar or fiscal). We are currently in Apple's third quarter (fiscal). Their fiscal year ends toward the end of September.

 

[cvaldes]

Has anyone heard about the progress of Apple's server farm in North Carolina?
the bought the land last year. I'm curious if the app store,Apple Tv and streaming music will come from there?

Nobody knows because Apple typically does not disclose such details about operational matters.

From a security and competitive standpoint, it makes more sense for them to keep their mouths shut about what is going on there.

It mostly matters to Apple themselves and to people who live in the vicinity and are interested in employment.

I believe there are some job listings for that facility, but they are not specific about what content is being stored there, simply what skills they are looking for in potential candidates.

Lastly, it really doesn't matter to Joe Consumer where the data is coming from, as long as the end user experience is good.

 

[pmz]

Today's report claims, however, that Apple "hasn't done much" with regards to film content for the iPad, so users should not expect to see any significant announcements regarding that portion of Apple's iTunes business alongside the iPad launch.

Of course not. The iPad is popular enough as it is, and doesn't need this to sell it. Expect this is to be a big announcement in September, alongside the next major release of iTunes X, hopefully a 64 bit Cocoa release with lots of MobileMe/ cloud integration.

 

[iDisk]

iTunes in the cloud is no small task. Apple has to get it right the 1st time, glad to hear they're taking their time with this.

 

[DaveGee]

As a DVD collecting MANAIC from day 0 who has an enormous collecting of titles lining the walls of my family room... here's my spin on all of this.

When Blu-ray finally 'won HD the war' I was actually happy, since it was the format that I felt was best suited to carry the torch previously held by DVD. What I didn't see coming was my lack of interest in Blu-ray as a whole. I admit I was clearly a DVD junky... Fueled in part by the clearly superior quality and other goodies as well as the SUPER cheap prices you could obtain them for... DVDs went on sale at the same time as internet shopping was JUST taking off... Tons of shops with buckets of VC cash were ALL handing out $5 or $10 off DVD coupons. Ten+ different deals per WEEK was not uncommon and DVDs starting rolling out as fast as the junkies could buy them. I myself have over 600 movies alone and countless TV seasons from at least 20 different shows. The last few year the deals became much fewer and less attractive and my buying spree came to an end.

I'm now constantly looking at a wall full of movies that many/most of which my wife and I have watched ONCE... Some are still shrink-wrapped. Now I'm hit with this new Blu-ray format and I simply can't bring myself to start the craze all over again - no matter how much 'better' the movie might look and I can't really blame them... their very existence could be at stake.

I've though long and hard about this and the reason for buying the movies was simply for the convenience / comfort / bragging rights of being able to pickup and watch whatever we wanted whenever we pleased.

But, at what cost?

The 'knowledge' that you could pick up a remote any play just about ANYTHING on demand is quite a powerful force and it clearly drove our DVD buying spree for years. The fact is you can never own 'everything'... Not even if you could buy them all for $5 each. The storage needs alone would be insane.

So... I asked myself... would I pay $19-$29 a month if it enabled me to have FULL access (with a stunning UI) to ANY HD movie currently available for a rental fee of $2.99 or even $3.99 for over a 2 or 3 day period. Now I'm not talking about a few hundred titles that get rotated in and out.. but the ENTIRE collection of modern movies from all the studios. Always available anytime...

To me... I'd do it in a heartbeat. The warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing I can access any HD movie anytime I like would be a strong attraction for me and clearly something I'd pay a monthly fee to be able to have access to - and I'd still be willing to play a reasonable fee to actually watch a movie from the catalog.

I guess for me its the 'completeness' of it that appeals to me most.

Unfortunately this is exactly what scares the **** out of the studios...

People are buying less DVD and Blu-ray movies NOW... imagine what would happen if suddenly you could gain access to them ALL anytime day or night (for a low monthly fee) and watch them for a modest rental/streaming fee of 2 or 3 bucks for a 3 day period. The only deal breaker for me would be if the studios dumbed all the content down to 720p and lackluster audio options.

If done right... the HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, Netflix can all plan for their painful times ahead... After all, who is gonna throw $10+ or more per month to those stations who show 100? (more/less) movies per month... The only saving grace for some would be the original content some of those stations (HBO comes to mind) fund.. Netflix and movie stations without their own content will die very quickly.

The cable industry wouldn't be hurt _as bad_ right away but this would still be seen as a sign of things to come.

So.. lets just say that LOTS of companies have a DEEP DESIRE for Apple to NOT succeed with their grand movie and TV plans and are (or should be) putting enormous pressure on the studios for them to 'back off' and can you blame them? Their very existence could be at stake...

 

[CalCanuck]

Of course not. The iPad is popular enough as it is, and doesn't need this to sell it. Expect this is to be a big announcement in September, alongside the next major release of iTunes X, hopefully a 64 bit Cocoa release with lots of MobileMe/ cloud integration.

Just give me Home Sharing through iTunes or Front Row for my iPad and i'll be happy. Better to stream my media from where it is then copying it over to the iPad since it has very little space.

 

[slfdstrx]

Just give me Home Sharing through iTunes or Front Row for my iPad and i'll be happy. Better to stream my media from where it is then copying it over to the iPad since it has very little space.

This, please. If they could do this for the iPad, I'd be very happy.

 

[entropys]

Just give me Home Sharing through iTunes or Front Row for my iPad and i'll be happy. Better to stream my media from where it is then copying it over to the iPad since it has very little space.

While that does sound like a good idea, it is no good if you live in a country with a download/upload quota. In fact, streaming in general in such countries is an expensive option for the user.

 

[blackpond]

Limewire. Reminds me of my youth.

Limewire in your youth? How young are you now?

 

[thejakill]

lala.com has been pretty nice to use. I am looking forward to the day when all of my media can live in the cloud.

I personally have no interest in a music subscription. I like to own my music.

this

 

[KidIcarus412]

Deleted

 

[reactions]

iTunes fans? Really?

How about we anti fans that wish iTunes weren't such a resource hog!

Sure some of us may b1tch about flash but this is by far a worse problem


Lol soon iTunes will require it's own dedicated chip to run

can I get a " hellyah" my brothers?!

 

[law guy]

I personally have no interest in a music subscription. I like to own my music. TV shows or movies, absolutely. But not so much with music.

I'm right there with you GL. I now only use the iTunes downloads occasionally as it is and I have no need for a steaming music service. I feel like an evangelist telling folks that there is this way to actually get the music in much higher digital quality called a CD. It's sexy as technology that's convenient, but it's hard to go back to cassette tape fidelity - and I'm a little annoyed at Apple and the labels because there's no good reason for it to be artificially limited.

 

[RalfTheDog]

iTunes fans? Really?

How about we anti fans that wish iTunes weren't such a resource hog!

Sure some of us may b1tch about flash but this is by far a worse problem


Lol soon iTunes will require it's own dedicated chip to run

can I get a " hellyah" my brothers?!

You must be a Windows user. It runs quit lean on the Mac. If you consider what it does, it runs quite extraordinarily lean.