Skip to main content

iRadio Reportedly Launching This Summer


I've posted quite a bit about Apple's proposed "iRadio" service, and why their lowball offer on royalties per song streamed may be justified. 

Put simply, if the Apple music service is anything like what's been described, it will drive music sales, while making the iPod (or the "Music" app on the iPhone) more indispensable than ever.

And now, it appears that iRadio is closer than ever - maybe arriving this summer. 

9to5Mac, citing The Verge, states that "significant progress" has been made in talks between Apple, Warner and Universal, and that Apple is pushing for a "summertime launch" for iRadio.  

This would be great for Apple - a company that, at the moment, seems to need a "hook" to get people to believe that they're still amazing

iRadio - A Win-Win-Win

For the reasons we've previously discussed, I believe that Apple iRadio will be a win-win-win - Apple, the music industry, and consumers will all benefit. 

Apple will get a flashy new proprietary iOS/OSX application, standard on every iDevice and moving to the forefront on iTunes. 

They'll finally be able to put all of that iTunes Genius data to good use - your Genius playlists won't be limited to the music in your library, but will also feature the "most relevant" of every song ever released.  

The music industry will make some money on streams, but will make more money on sales - both within the app, and indirectly through increased familiarity with particular songs. 

There is an inherent value in getting your music in front of listeners - in fact, music labels have been willing to pay radio stations directly to get their songs on the air, in ways both illegal (70's payola scandals) and above-board (sponsored content)

With iRadio, the record labels will be getting paid for marketing their songs. Not only that, but Apple's Genius database will ensure that specific songs are being marketed directly to the consumers most likely to buy them. 

Consumers will win, because a properly designed iRadio will expose us to new music we're likely to enjoy, while making it dead-simple to purchase that music. At the same time, iRadio will keep us engaged with music we've previously purchased. 

Now that the negotiations have started rolling, they'll be difficult to stop. iRadio will be launched in a few months, and we'll get to see it in action.

Hopefully, Tim and Jony will have a keynote to announce iRadio - but that's a subject for my next post.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Not All AirPort Extremes are Created Equal (UPDATED)

I'm looking for a used AirPort Extreme. In all the usual places - eBay, Craigslist.  I'll probably get one this week. Why? It's a long story.  A while back, I picked up an AirPort Express A1084 router on Craigslist, and found that it was incompatible with my AirPort Utility and wireless-n network, even though it looked *identical* to the current model of AirPort Express.  So, I wrote a post on this blog about the different types of AirPort Express routers, noting that if you're looking for used Airport Express routers to extend your AirPlay network, you'd better seek out model A1264. In the months that followed, Apple updated the AirPort Express again, changing the form factor (it looks like a little white AppleTV now), adding simultaneous dual-band support, and giving it model number A1392.  ASIDE: I'm not totally convinced that the form-factor change was an improvement. The A1264 plugged directly into the wall, which was incr

Review - WOW Ultra TV vs. DirecTV HR34 Genie

Here in the Chicago suburbs, we had two options for whole-home DVR services. We initially went with WOW Ultra TV, and after about 4 months, we switched to DirecTV's HR34 Genie system. (Neither Verizon FIOS nor AT&T UVerse were available in our area, so we can't review those. I haven't used Dish's Hopper, either. This is a straight compare/contrast review of WOW vs. DirecTV.) Both Ultra TV and Genie have their plusses and minuses. Both offer 1080p output, but that's primarily for the menus, as most TV content is provided at lower resolutions.  Both systems have a similar design architecture - a central hub, with multiple tuners and a large hard drive, recording and storing all TV shows, and distributing them to televisions around the house upon request.  Both systems also bring a number of "add-on" apps and have ways of accessing "on demand" content.  We've had each system for enough time to really put them through

Review: NuCore Flooring from Floor & Decor

This NuCore flooring review will also function as a Basement Update: We're finally, officially moving forward on the Phase 2 finish work.