|
Apple Radio — Yes, er … Maybe
|
While the world waits with bated breath on
every little move from Apple, broadcasters are perhaps most interested in the
persistent rumor that Apple is planning to launch a music service to rival
Pandora, et al.
Two Friday stories offer somewhat
different takes.
Bloomberg’s report, “Apple’s Online
Radio Service to Challenge Pandora in 2013,” pointed to an Apple launch in
the first quarter of 2013. It indicated that negotiations with record labels
were progressing. The main questions being hashed out involved ad revenues.
However, CNET’s “Apple’s Proposed Web Radio Service Is No
Certainty,” casts some uncertainty at the Bloomberg piece. “But music
industry executives who spoke with CNET said that some decision makers at the
big record companies want Apple to sweeten the offer,” the piece says.
It points to worries that Apple is low-balling the labels and
that a proposed piece of the ad revenue action might be an underperformer.
There’s also worry that Apple could throw in with Pandora and push for the
lower Internet performance royalties in the Internet Fairness Radio Act.
|