Apple signs deal with Sony/ATV for new iRadio service, details revealed at WWDC tomorrow

Apple will have some exciting plans to show off tomorrow at the Apple WorldWide Developers Conference.

The four-day conference kicks off Monday, June 10 in San Francisco and Apple Inc. will have a major advantage this year as developers yearn for details about Apple’s newest projects according to CNET.

It’s most recent innovations of iOS 7 and iRadio are big endeavors that have taken some major planning. Early Friday, the final piece to Apple’s Internet radio service was put in place as Apple signed a deal with Sony Music – which includes EMI Publishing - one of the three labels it needed to put the project into play.

After the past year of negotiation, Sony/ATV, the world's largest publishing house, finally agreed to the terms Apple offered them. Its chief, Martin Bandier, has been hesitant about signing and agreement with Apple and Apple has also struggled to work around the digital rights issues Bandier has been dealing with on his own.

The two finally reached a deal though this past Friday, and it is quite generous compared to Apple’s initial offer. The deal for publishers such as Warner/Chappell –who Apple signed with earlier - now Sony/ATV has contracts Apple to pay over two times the the ad share revenue that Pandora pays them.

According to Billboard, Apple did not exhibit the aggressive negotiating skills in these agreements that they have in the past with the music industry. This may be because the pressure is on for the new iRadio service to get going in order to get a jump on competitor services and offset the lost revenue from the iPhone as Google’s Android has taken control of the smartphone market. Since negotiations started, Apple has increased their offer to publishers significantly as Pandora spiked to the top Internet service with 70 million active users, and Spotify not far behind. Google additionally just launched a subscription music service and has plans to start another service with to Youtube. Especially with the pressure from the Android in the iPhone market, Apple is eager to release a competing Internet radio product.

Universal Music Group’s record music operation and CEO Lucien Grainge are on board with Apple’s iRadio service, but Universal Music Publishing Group has not announced any type of agreement. They are the final group of publishers Apple is seeking for the success of this venture. Developers will get a chance to decide if they are interested by the plans Apple lays out tomorrow at the conference.

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