According to reports from sources close to Apple, the Cupertino, California-based tech giant has allegedly inked deals with several major labels in the music industry, a development that many believe suggests that Apple is inching closer to joining rivals Amazon and Google with cloud-storage and music streaming services.
Late Wednesday, CNET reported that Apple has signed a “cloud-music licensing agreement with EMI Music and is very near to completing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.”
At this time, it is expected that Apple will have signed deals with the four biggest labels by the end of next week. If so, Apple will likely herald the forthcoming (and long-awaited) cloud-based services on or around June 6th – the start of Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference.
As we rapidly approach late May, it’s all but guaranteed that a new iPhone won’t be rolled out in two weeks. But if Apple has a long-rumored, much-hyped new service to introduce, Apple die-hards will still have something to get substantially excited about.
Most industry analysts believe that Apple will charge for a cloud-based subscription service, excluding an initial trial period at no cost.
