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Reports: Apple's internet radio service delayed by slow-going music licensing negotiations
According to folks in the know who've spoken to Bloomberg and The New York Times, Apple's oft-rumored streaming radio service is set for a late arrival. The reason is because of snails-pace negotiations with the publisher Sony/ATV for music licensing deals. As the Times notes, Sony no longer lets outsiders like ASCAP dole out licenses, leaving itself as chief point of contact for such agreements on its content -- this apparently got Pandora locked into a twenty five-percent increase on royalty payments to Sony. Prior to today's reports, Bloomberg stated that Cupertino was aiming for a Q1 release for this year, and the NYT notes Apple hoped that launch would've happened near the Grammy Awards. If you'll recall, Apple's service is said be direct competition to others like Pandora rather than Spotify, as it would be ad-supported for revenue. As usual, take all of this with a grain of salt, and don't get too thirsty for an Apple-curated streaming music service just yet. More info at the source links.
