I put this post in both the regular blog AND the Analyst Watch section of the AppleInvestor website, because I’m surprised the anal-ists weren’t all over this, this is BIG!! Everything is coming together for Apple right now, soon they’ll have music tied up with the biggest label, Universal (Warner is number 3), then they’ll have the iWatch and new iPhones, and I suspect an iRadio on all the touch devices, then we’ll have the iTV with iRadio and iTunes, we are gonna have an iParty!!
I’m happy with a Universal deal, because they are first rate. I don’t care about Warner Music Group, they have issues, both technically and internally that makes them a dysfunctional partner. So Apple, go with the biggest and the best, and Sony will be begging to join in.
The only unfortunate part of all this is the extreme pressure this will put on Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, MOG, and others. But I guess competition is good, right? Well not in the music world, it’s all or nothing there. The business is cutthroat and inbred. Plus the fact that organized crime has their dirty little hands in it all over the place. Looking for sources…don’t bother, I’m a blogger not a journalist. All I can say is be careful who you shake hands with…
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here Album Cover (click to enlarge)
Apple is expected to sign its first internet radio licensing agreement with a major record label perhaps as soon as next week, multiple sources with knowledge of the talks have told The Verge. Universal Music Group, the largest of the major record companies, has reached the final stages of the negotiations and Warner Music is close behind, the sources said.
Apple is expected to launch a web radio service similar to Pandora’s later this year, provided that executives there can strike an agreement with Sony Music Entertainment as well as music publishers. Talks with Sony, which operates the third label, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony / ATV, the music publishing company jointly run with the estate of the late singer Michael Jackson, are said to not be as far along towards reaching a deal. Last week, The Verge broke the news that Apple had made made substantial progress in the talks with Universal and Warner.
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