“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?