“Sources say that the labels believe web radio is bigger than Pandora and the market will expand soon,” Greg Sandoval reports for The Verge. “Apple is coming.”
“Much has been written about Apple’s plan to launch a Pandora-esque service this year,” Sandoval reports. “Now multiple music industry insiders have told The Verge that significant progress has been made in the talks with two of the top labels: Universal and Warner.”
Sandoval reports, “One of the sources said ‘iRadio is coming. There’s no doubt about it anymore.’ Apple is pushing hard for a summertime launch.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: “Apple is coming.” Quick, someone get Pandora et al. some new pants!
Apple’s iRadio will be far bigger than most observers currently realize.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple’s ‘iRadio’ imminent? ‘Radio Buy Buttons’ found in iOS 6.1 – February 5, 2013
Analyst: No ‘Apple Television’ this year, but ‘iRadio’ on the way – January 3, 2013
Apple’s iTunes radio should pump up heat on Spotify, not Pandora – December 3, 2012
Analyst: Apple to launch ad-supported ‘iRadio’ music streaming service next year, before ‘Apple iTV’ – December 3, 2012
It better have free options. I’ll never pay for any web or broadcast radio.
you can have ads and commercials to yours then, ill pay as long as its commercial free and ad free, gladly!
Yes, I’d probably pay for the premium service as well. But free should definitely be an option, just as we should be able to choose between having a 4″ iPhone and a 4.7″ or higher iPhone Plus.
I’ll take that larger iPhone thank you. And so will most iPhone buyers. As for the radio service, I’ll just have to wait and see what that looks like. Since Apple makes the best hardware and software but seems to be lacking in services execution it’s a crapshoot. If they could just get their services on the same level with their hardware and software it would be great! Apparently the MobileMe ass kicking that they took a few years ago wasn’t enough. Tim Cook hardly looks like the guy to do that so maybe they need to bring in someone to shake up the troops? How about Alec Baldwin? I’m thinking of the Glengarry Glen Ross speech. Fantastic! It made me want to go out and sell real estate immediately. And I don’t even know anything about selling real estate. Brass balls!
R2, I liked your comment, until you brought up the iPhone screen size comment. Totally off topic.
Please don’t become another BLN. We all know you want a bigger iPhone, you’ve mentioned it 100’s of times. If you want to keep mentioning it, go ahead, but stick to the threads that are about iPhone screen size.
Re: iRadio
I’d also like to see a free (ad based) and paid (ad free) offering. I’d especially like it if the ad based model offered ads for products and services that I’m actually interested in. This should be fairly easy for Apple to implement.
My comment wasn’t really off topic. The iRadio interface will look and work so much better on a phone with a larger screen. It’s like the iPhone Plus will allow it to breathe better. That’s what I meant when I brought it up.
I’m sure you will be able to use iRadio on the iPad.
I’d like to see a larger iPhone also Bill. Bringing it up because I’m not sure that you’re aware of how all of us feel? And we can probably do without a room monitor.
I only write hoping an apple engineer with Pull reads these and that is it. Bigger screen bigger interface hopefully offer battery too sounds simple but has not happened. Radio streams will suck battery life yes free radio. Ad free commercial free a must should be visuals at the worst, roll ups would not bother me. Also not programmed by the majors. yuck. wow that second five cent stereo speaker on ipad may be an idea finally duh
It’ll have to be less expensive than Sirius XM. Which I can buy for 39 dollars for six months as much music as I can stand, plus loads of other news – sports etc.
And don’t tell me it’s more costly than that – you have to be able to bargain with them.
Notice I wrote ‘than’ not ‘then’.
How do they get around the rediculous fees they have to pay for the streaming. 40% of pandora’s revenue goes to these royalty streams. Soehow, Siius?XM doesn’t have to apys and radiostations pay a lot eass even though their broadcasts have simutaneous straeming. Not sure about Spotify. Maybe different becasue you select the specific songs/albums. Any insignts appreciated.
The RIAA’s approach to Internet streaming is to either:
1) Inflate the royalty rates so outrageously high, several times higher than terrestrial radio, that all the streamers are driven out of business.
OR
2) Gouge the hell out of Internet streamers and use it as a cruel and unusual punishment and compensation for the inevitable self-destruction of the music biznizz.
IOW: It’s the same old hateful, self-destructive, Luddite RIAA we loathe.
Keep in mind folks that music streaming is in reality this:
***FREE MUSIC MARKETING***
But that’s not gouge, I mean good, enough for the RIAA. 😛
well you have to pay for services at one point – don’t be cheap! —– trondude —– what are you 12
this will be interesting. I already pay for XM, but dont want to pay for another. I really like pandora, but only can listen if I have an available wifi connection via my ipod touch.
Surely XM is working on streaming their stuff too. Would only make sense. They already have the agreements.
Having XM and an annual subscription to Pandora, were dumping XM, and I want to look into apples offering and will probably switch to it and dump pandora when the time runs out….
All this fuss about a “new” radio service ..?
I found my station .. in iTunes .. (several years ago, in fact !) .. and I get it free with my internet connection ..
I’m NOT gonna pay twice to listen to my favorite music !
That’s just foolish !
Sure hope doesn’t decide to start charging me for it !
What is it?
I can’t seem to find anything I like on there.
There are, as rimshot points out, hundreds of _radio_ stations in iTunes, and always have been. These are web-streaming regular radio stations, and internet-only streaming stations, like WMBR and Radio Paradise, and are well worth the listen. Many of these stations will gratefully accept donations, but do not require them. Personally, I’ve always supported the listener-sponsored services I’ve enjoyed for years now.
Nothing wrong with having another option out there. I already pay for XM. Pandora’s free option has a ridiculous amount of ads now. Fingers crossed Apple’s version rocks!
I’m currently listening to “Ry Cooder Radio” on Pandora through my audio receiver. I don’t seem to encounter the “ridiculous amount” of ads you do.
Apple should get into the concerts business and should bring back Steve Wozniak’s US Festival!
Sure….right after Apple releases it’s 58-inch OLED TV.
Oh yeah! In a week when Wall Street markets were setting new record highs, AAPL collapsed again back to the level that reflects how incredibly dismissed by the Street is the company’s CEO. Every day this week, every day, there’s been speculation about some like this or something like something else all confirming that this company is dead in the water and no body thinks it is going anywhere under the current management. Wake up folks – this won’t change with any new or tinkered with gadget. It will ONLY change when a new CEO cast from the Steve Jobs mold arrives in Cupertino. Nothing is going to happen until that happens.
Who’s that? Michael Dell
I am sure am glad that Blackstone Group can pay you to come in here and bad mouth Apple so that your company can make billions shorting the stock.
snorzzzville el grandé. (aka Big Whoop Te Do).
similar to Tim Cook’s “innovation.”
The key feature will be to simplify buying songs that you like. If Apple achieve this then the labels will allow lower rates. Buy 1 song every 100 plays and the labels gets 30 cents on top of 6 cents.
As long as the carriers shaft their customers by having 1Gb/month data limits then anything like this is irrelevant.
Plus the fact that for many people their networks are too low in bandwidth to make streaming anything like this viable.
I’m unable to have my phone on in work for security reasons as well, but in any case I have a radio and listen to BBC 6Music, which has a tremendous range of old and new music, I can listen in my car, at home and at work, and I have no data overheads to worry about.
If my network offered unlimited data on a ubiquitous 4G system, then I’d possibly be interested, but the other caveats still apply.
Betcha Samsung comes out with one quicker 😉
I’ve had radio streams in iTunes for years for free.
Who needs this?
They removed all of the talk radio and news radio stations. Damn effin fools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!