Service iRadio of the Apple company is slowly but surely approaching the launch, those from Cupertino managing to convince Warner Music and Universal Music to conclude collaborative agreements that would allow Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), to launch iRadio in 10-12 countries until the summer of this year at the latest. Apple would pay licensing rates similar to those of Pandora to its partners, and the entire service would be launched on the freemium model, meaning that users would be able to listen to their favorite radio stations for free, but Apple could include advertisements, or another system of in-app purchases.
Apple is expected to sign its first internal radio licensing agreement with a major record label perhaps as soon as next week, multiple sources with knowledge of the talks have told The Verge...Apple initially offered to pay 6 cents per 100 songs streamed, or about half of what Pandora pays. Now, Apple will pay rates nearly "neck and neck" with Pandora, one of the sources said. The press has dubbed the service iRadio, in negotiations with the labels Apple is referring to it as its "new streaming service," says a source...Apple is building some unique features, such as the ability to jump back to the beginning of a song ...Apple is hoping to quickly unveil the service in up to a dozen territories, according to sources, including the UK, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan.
Unfortunately, the service would be unavailable in Romania for the beginning, exactly as it happens with iTunes Match, but it is not known if it will ever reach our country. iRadio would give those from Apple an advantage over their competitors, iDevice owners from important countries around the world would have the opportunity to listen to radio stations with popular songs without paying a penny to the company. Considering the many rumors that have appeared recently, the only thing that remains to be done is the announcement of the service, WWDC 2013 being the most likely place where everything would happen.
