Apple chasing “iRadio” streaming deals for WWDC reveal insiders claim

Apple is racing to finalize internet radio deals that will allow it to launch a new service at its WWDC 2013 keynote on June 10, sources claim, with “iRadio” agreements reportedly settled with Warner Music Group and partially with UMG. The Warner deal – which will supposedly see Apple pay 10-percent of its ad revenue to the music publisher, around twice the amount Pandora coughs up – was settled over the weekend, according to both the WSJ and NYTimes, though Sony is supposedly remaining difficult.

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So far, Apple is believed to have agreed deals on recorded music rights and music publishing rights with Warner Music Group, while a similar deal with Universal Music Group has only so far been to cover recorded rights. Talks with Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV are ongoing, the insiders claim, with negotiations “far apart” according to the WSJ.

Hanging in the balance is Apple’s take on the streaming music segment, colloquially known as “iRadio”, and challenging services like Spotify and Pandora. The streaming media platform would offer some degree of control over track selection, though the exact mechanism is unclear at this stage, and is expected to be offered to users free of charge; Apple would intersperse adverts provided by its own iAds service to monetize the streaming.

However, first the company needs to negotiate a deal on the rights to actually use the publisher’s tracks, agreements which are separate from the existing contracts Apple has for iTunes downloads. That has long been believed to be a stumbling block, with content owners concerned that they may end up marginalizing their own role in the industry if they give Apple the rights.

They’re also stinging from previous agreements inked with Pandora, which are now said to be considered too generous to the streaming service. Pandora pays approximately 4-percent of its revenue to publishers, which now want more than twice that amount from Apple.

In Apple’s favor is the potential to tie streaming listening in with track downloads, given the existing iTunes store functionality. However, that’s unlikely to happen until Apple gets all of the big names locked in. “Apple is unlikely to launch the product without striking these deals” the WSJ concludes.

We’ll know more at WWDC 2013, where Apple is also expected to unveil the new version of iOS, iOS 7, together with taking the wraps off of a fresh line-up of MacBook notebooks. SlashGear will be liveblogging the opening keynote on June 10.


Apple chasing “iRadio” streaming deals for WWDC reveal insiders claim is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple Reportedly Signs iRadio Deal With Warner Music

According to a new report Apple has finally managed to get Warner Music on board for its much rumored iRadio service.

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New MacBook Air And Pro Launch At WWDC 2013 Rumored Once Again

An analyst believes that Apple will unveil new MacBook Air and Pro models at WWDC 2013. These new laptops will reportedly tout Intel’s next generation Haswell processors.

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New Mac Pro 2013 Unveil Expected At WWDC

Apple is expected to unveil new Mac Pro 2013 at this year’s WWDC. Little or no inventory of the previous model at major retailers is a positive sign of a revamp’s possibility.

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Here’s What to Expect From Apple at WWDC 2013

Here’s What to Expect From Apple at WWDC 2013

WWDC, Apple’s yearly developer conference, is just around the corner — it kicks off on June 10. Following Google’s I/O conference earlier this month, both developer and consumer expectations are sky high. Especially because other than a new-ish iPod, there’s …

iOS 7 UI overhaul monochrome, flat, and tipped for iPhone first

Hints at the comprehensive interface changes expected in Apple’s iOS 7 have emerged in fresh leaks from the company, tipping a flatter, more monochromatic UI that pulls the software more in line with the minimalistic hardware. Apple is expected to shift away from the “skeuomorphic” style of faux textures and artificial lighting effects favored by Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall, and – with Jony Ive at the helm – pare back apps and interface elements, 9to5Mac reports, across the board.

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The changes will start with the lockscreen, which has apparently lost its glossy, semi-transparent time and date pane and replaced it with a solid black bar, while the PIN code keypad has been supposedly updated with black, round buttons with simple white text and borders.

Notifications have changed too, it’s said, both in the lockscreen – where there are believed to be new gesture controls – and in the drop-down notification pane, which will be white text on black and include shortcut controls for commonly-accessed settings such as airplane mode, in addition to new widget-style panes.

The iOS 7 homescreen will reportedly gain panoramic wallpapers, as on Android phones and tablets, and the iconography lose the lighting effect in favor of flatter graphics.

However, while previous leaks suggested Apple could push back updating some of its core apps in iOS 7 so as to finish up the UI changes, potentially staggering the refresh into early 2014, the new sources claim WWDC 2013 will see just about every aspect of the platform modified. The new app icons will each have a different key color, carried through into the apps themselves: “a white base with a respective color theme” as 9to5Mac describes it.

The overarching theme will be flatness, it’s said, with Apple’s designers supposedly more comfortable with the idea of leaving backgrounds as plain white, rather than using some sort of texture image. That will extend to Mail, Calendar, Maps, Messages, and Notes, among others, though the exact degree of changes is said to vary. Those most modified will include Safari, the Camera app, Weather, the App Store, Newwstand, and Game Center, it’s said.

According to multiple leaks, it’s all-hands-on-deck within Apple to get iOS 7 ready in time for WWDC 2013 next month. The company has apparently shifted coders from the Mac OS X team to the iOS division, so as to address all the changes Ive has been instrumental in pushing, though it’s said that the goal is now to get the iPhone version finished first before the iPad version.

Ive’s goal for the iOS 7 changes is apparently to reduce the speed at which he fears the platform will date. Insiders at the firm have said that the designer has been increasingly present across all software department meetings, often only listening to the topics of discussion, but generally involving himself far more in iOS design than in previous iterations.

That strategy has potential. iOS’ interface has seen relatively little change since it was first revealed on the original iPhone, and while the decisions Apple took at the time – to ease users into the concept by borrowing physical metaphors like yellow legal pads for Notes, complete with torn paper edges – may have helped make it one of the most approachable platforms, they’re seeing increasing criticism since many users have never encountered the real-world equivalents of the design.

Meanwhile rival software like Microsoft’s Windows Phone and the latter versions of Google’s Android have followed more “authentically digital” paths for their appearance, which has led to suggestions that iOS is comparatively dated. Nonetheless, given the large – and vocal – userbase familiar with iOS and the idea that they can upgrade their iPhone or iPad from one year to the next without having to re-learn how to use them, Apple must tread a careful line not to throw out that familiarity along with the chintz.

We’ll be at WWDC 2013 to see all the changes Apple has made, and will be liveblogging the opening keynote on Monday, June 10.


iOS 7 UI overhaul monochrome, flat, and tipped for iPhone first is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple WWDC 2013 Keynote Confirmed For 10th June

Today Apple has formally confirmed that it will be conducting its keynote presentation on the first day of WWDC 2013, which is 10th of June.

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Vimeo And Flickr Integration In iOS 7 Rumored

Rumor has it that iOS 7 will come with Flickr and Vimeo integration, similar to that of Facebook and Twitter integration.

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Apple iRadio Apparently Delayed Over Licensing Negotiations

Apple iRadio alleged music streaming service is apparently being delayed due to negotiations with Sony music label over song skipping rates.

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MacBook Air Supply Short Fall Rumored Prior To WWDC 2013

MacBook Air supply is reportedly facing shortfall at Apple authorized resellers, giving rise to speculation that new MacBook models are coming at WWDC 2013.

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