Apple iRadio coming this summer, says record label executive

Spotify and the likes, you have reason to worry. We have word that Apple’s own music streaming service iRadio is looking dead on for a summer release.

Buried in a feature on The Verge is an interesting paragraph that says negotiations between Apple and several major record companies are ongoing and that the Cupertino company is in the advanced stage of talks with two of the market leaders – Universal and Warner. Needless to say, if Apple manages to wrangle a deal with those two, the other players are bound to follow in the fear of missing out on a good thing.

Will iRadio bury the competition?

At the moment, it is unclear if the radio service will debut with the next iPhone or will be a separate launch. Here’s the tale from the source: “Much has been written about Apple’s plan to launch a Pandora-esque service this year. 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. One of the sources said ‘iRadio is coming. There’s no doubt about it anymore.’ Apple is pushing hard for a summertime launch.”

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Earlier this month, reports said Apple was offering half the royalty that Pandora, another popular music streaming service, pays. Apple wants to pay 6 cents per 100 song streams while Pandora currently pays 12 cents per 100 plays.

Reports also said that Apple was in danger of missing the 2013 launch deadline because of the difficulties in the negotiation of royalty rates with record companies. This latest bit of news on the subject would now suggest that Apple has managed to once again use its clout and charisma to make headway.

MacRumors follows up with more speculation saying mention of Universal and Warner is particularly of note since Universal was the last of the major record labels to sign up with iCloud and Warner has been known to be wary of cloud-based services in the past.

Google could eventually end up being Apple’s biggest rival in the music streaming service. The search giant has also been in talks with record labels over a possible streaming service that will be integrated into YouTube. Google has reportedly clinched a deal with Warner on the hush-hush, and the service is slated for a summer launch as well. Brace yourself for a musical next few months.