Apple plans to showcase iRadio at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next week after finally having secured licensing rights with Warner Music Group and Warner/Chappell Music. Direct deals with Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV are also on the table but still appear unsecured.
iRadio, like many other internet radio services, will be free for users at the cost of listening to advertisements every so often. According to numerous reports, however, iRadio will have the ability to skip or replay an infinite number of songs. Many are excited about this “game-changing” advantage iRadio will have over, say, the likes of Pandora.
Apple has already licensed Universal Music Group.
Others question the intrinsic value of skipping more than a few songs at a time, especially since radio stations are developed to curate based on user preferences. But Apple’s direct label deals open an entirely new level of interactivity, including more skipping and song selection.
“replay an infinite number of songs”
Sounds like an iTunes killer.
It sounds like a shitty version of Spotify.