Andre Yoskowitz
12 Apr 2013 20:00
According to sources, Apple is on the verge of signing their first Internet radio licensing agreement, with an iRadio announcement "imminent."
As early as next week, the company could announce the agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG) and potentially Warner Music, as well.
The service will be similar to Pandora in allowing free streaming of music that is turned into playlists by algorithms designed to give users a good selection of music similar to what they have chosen as a base, whether it be artist, song or genre.
Pandora currently pays 12 cents for every 100 songs streamed, and reports claimed Apple was trying to leverage their iTunes power to get that down to 6 cents. The labels did not buy the bluff and new reports say Apple will pay prices "neck-and-neck" with existing services.
While Pandora is the current market leader with 200 million users, Apple and its army could certainly challenge that number if the service works as advertised.