The UK Sun reports Apple is readying to take on Pandora, Spotify and Slacker when it launches its internet radio service – dubbed iRadio – this summer. The tech giant is believed to have been preparing to join the music-streaming market for a number of years, and is only now gearing up for its imminent debut.
Negotiations between them and top recording companies Universal and Warner are said to be at an advanced stage over the service, the story said.
Apple’s bargaining position may be so good that the record companies can’t afford to turn them down. They are thought to be using their position as a top tech brand to play hardball with the lablels — asking to pay just $.06 per 100 plays for any song. Pandora currently pays about $.12, and Spotify $.35.
RBR-TVBR observation: These per 100 songs played numbers are typically based off of estimated listens and associated song purchases/downloads. The labels know through their revenues from iTunes that an Apple music service would be lucrative as well. With volume comes discount. Right off the bat, everyone with an Apple ID, iTunes account or iPhone would be instantly served up the new service. The massive audience is already there. iRadio will also likely offer the ability to mix in favorite songs that users already have downloaded from iTunes—giving it a bit of an advantage over Pandora, which serves up songs based on other songs the user has liked or chosen initially.
Though the price paid for songs is interesting, what radio BETTER be preparing for is the advertising interactivity that Apple is alleging to serve up.. Geo-targeting prospects then serving up local data to bring them to the advertiser’s door step would not be rocket science for terrestrial radio, but it will require some vision and pro-active development on behalf of a medium that already commands a dominant footprint in all those people out there behind the wheel. Take a look at our ideas for instant listener interactivity and pre-rolls. http://ProofOfPlay.com
“and may the odds always be in radio’s favor!”
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