“Google’s long-rumored Play Music All Access service is already out the door, while Apple’s iRadio is still bogged down in licensing talks,” Greg Sandoval reports for The Verge. “According to music industry sources, all the haggling could prevent Apple from debuting the service at the Worldwide Developers Conference next month.”
“Sony/ATV, the largest music publisher, has rejected Apple’s terms according to published reports,” Sandoval reports. “What’s more, The Verge has learned this week that BMG Rights Management, the fourth largest music publisher, is also holding out. Insiders say that there’s still plenty of “market momentum” behind iRadio and some of the industry’s largest players — including Universal Music Group, which was the first to license songs for the service — want to see it launch as soon as possible.”
Sandoval reports, “How was Google able to secure deals for All Access, which was unveiled at Google I/O on Wednesday, while Apple has been stymied? For starters, Google chose to offer a standard subscription music service very similar to those built by Spotify and Rdio, and that meant the terms had largely been established, according to multiple sources close to the talks. Apple, on the other hand, is pioneering a hybrid web and radio service — one that resembles Pandora but melds it with some on-demand features, the sources said. The licensing agreement had to be created from scratch. ‘Of course [Apple’s] negotiations were going to take longer,’ one of the sources said.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Ever notice how Google always seems to take the lazy, easy way out while Apple goes the extra mile for their users’ convenience and ease-of-use?
Apple works hard to make things easier for their customers while the lackadaisical nature of Our Lady of Perpetual Beta makes it tougher on their users.
The same thing happened with iTunes Match.
Paul Sloan reports for CNET, ” Apple and Sony Music, the world’s second-largest music label, are still trying to hammer out details over how much Apple would pay for songs that people listen to a fraction of and then skip, according to people familiar with the negotiations. There could be other points of contention as well.”
“Apple’s streaming music service, which most closely resembles Internet radio leader Pandora, has some features built into it that give users added control, such as the ability to rewind a song and skip to the next after listening to a portion of it, sources say,” Sloan reports. “Apple last week reached an agreement with Universal Music, the world’s largest label, and it’s very close to finalizing its deal with Warner Music Group, sources say.”
Sloan reports, “That skipping has become an issue is frustrating executives at the other labels because they see Apple’s free radio service as a potential boon for the music industry overall and are eager to help the company get it launched.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Okay, who’s surprised that Sony doesn’t get it?
That’s not good.
iRadio: whoop te do.
Google Play charges $9.99 per month to subscribe to the radio service. I won’t be a customer for sure.
Apple has deep pockets and the music companies want to get their hands on more of it.
I expect so. Oh, the terrible perils at the top. Everyone wants a piece of you. This past year has certainly been a clown show of parasites looking to suck money out of Apple’s handsome coffers.
And people wonder why Apple built up a $100 billion stockpile. It’s plain old self-defense from the haters and vampires.
3 hours ago I watched a co-worker load his HTC 1 with pirated MP3’s via an app on the Google Play store. Google is hiding behind “open” BS while Apple gets heat for doing things fair and legally. If it wasn’t for the iTunes store the recording industry would already be a staggering blood soaked zombie.
Being in and around “the business” out here, I can guarantee you that the studios and record labels understand how valuable iTunes is. Having said that, they also understand how Steve Jobs got the upper hand in the deal with the music industry. And while the record industry may get nervous when Apple comes calling the studios are much more independent. But in the end they all simply want one thing and that’s that they want it their way. Apple, WB, FOX, Sony they all want it their way. Apple plays hardball. But the studios don’t need Apple as much as Apple needs the studios. It would be nice if Apple could get the iRadio deal finished by the time WWDC rolls around. At least that would be something positive in June. And they need to get the deal done for owning the living room too. Although the CW deal is a start. But Apple needs to kick it into high gear. We have been talking about AppleTV and the iTV for a long time now.
For an extra nickel these people are willing to kill the whole deal.
I guess the same could be said of Apple.
Unless the leaders of all the RIAA companies are lined up against a wall and shot dead, don’t expect anything as interesting or new as iRadio to penetrate the RIAA’s meagre little senile minds. The music business is bound and determined to live in the 20th century.
All Access is such an incredibly bad name…
Just like Google Play sounds like something for Kids. All Access, terrible… That is not a name, that’s what it is.