LOS ANGELES — Apple Inc. is close to securing deals with all four major recording companies on a music service that will allow users to stream songs stored on remote computer servers, presumably to an array of portable Apple-made devices, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
Such a service would give users a wide array of music on the go, without having to worry about limited storage space and the need to physically connect different devices to transfer songs.
Universal Music Group, a division of Vivendi SA, is about to sign a deal that will give Apple the right to stream songs to its customers, although how exactly the service will function is unclear, the person said.
The cloud music service is likely to be unveiled at Apple's annual developers' conference in San Francisco, which gets under way on June 6. Agreements with the units of the recording companies that collect songwriting royalties have not yet been completed but are expected to be finalized soon, the person said.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly on the deals and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Universal would be the largest and last recording company to sign a cloud music deal with Apple after the maker of iPads and iPhones cut deals with Sony Corp.'s music arm, EMI Group Ltd. and Warner Music Group Corp, the person said.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
Bloomberg News earlier reported that Apple had reached agreements with Sony, EMI and Warner and that Universal was close to a deal.
Over the last two months, Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc. have both unveiled cloud music plans but neither had secured deals with the recording companies. The services appeared to have limited functionality and amounted to allowing people to access material they had uploaded themselves.
Apple's deals with music companies will allow for downloading, mobile use and streaming — and will enable it to offer a more complete service, the person said. However, it is also unclear how much Apple will charge for such capabilities, and whether people would pay per song or by subscribing to a regular plan.
Amazon offers free storage for up to 5 gigabytes of cloud storage but charges for 20 gigabytes and more, starting at $20 per year. Google's service works by invitation only and is free to use during the current test phase.
Read More
The local artist behind The Cup’s alien-like art
By Abigail Denault / April 8, 2024The Cup’s patrons might take their beverage into the seating area to the tune of an indie-alternative song and like Jessica Wolfe, a 2023 graduate of Ball State University, they might notice new additions to the walls since their last visit.
VMA 2015: The most memorable Miley moments
By Raymond Garica / August 31, 2015Viewers were in for quite the show as Miley Cyrus hosted the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time Aug. 30. Cyrus is no stranger to the VMA stage — who could forget her twerk-filled performance in 2013 or the time she brought a homeless youth on stage with her to accept an award? Here are some of Miley’s most memorable moments from the 2015 VMAs.
VMA 2015: Top 5 performances of the night
By Raymond Garcia / August 31, 2015The MTV Video Music Awards are known for creating some of the most buzzed-about performances, and this year’s show did not disappoint. Here are some of the best performances of the night.
