MUMBAI: In a major collaboration of sorts, tech giant Apple is expected to sign its first radio licensing agreement with leading music label Universal Music for the 'iRadio' music streaming service.
As per reports, the two companies have reached the final stages of negotiations and Warner Music is reported to be close behind for the same.
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 along with music publishers.
The new service is expected to help iTunes users discover new music and boost sales of downloads as well as generate ad sales. They will apparently also pay similar royalty rates as Pandora’s service. Labels will also apparently be offered a revenue share of new audio ads Apple is planning to utilize on the free service.
There is no confirmation on when the Apple music streaming service will launch or what features it would offer. But in addition to the US, Apple will launch the service in many territories including UK, France, Germany, Australia and Japan.
It is stated to be a tough competitor for Pandora due to the large number of users in Apple’s iTunes. Since 2008, Apple has been amongst the top music store but in the past year, streaming services like Spotify and Pandora have come on strong and increased competition in the space.