Contradicting yesterday’s report by Reuters that Apple’s cloud music service is a go – but without the necessary support from record labels – Peter Kafka reported today on the Wall Street Journal’s MediaMemo blog that at least two out of four major record labels have signed on the dotted line. The rumored service will let you keep your music in the cloud and stream it to any authorized device.
A source told the author that iTunes boss Eddy Cue, who appeared alongside Rupert Murdoch at The Daily introduction last February, is said to be on a tour today in New York in order to seal the remaining deals. Take it from an industry executive:
The story contradicts all the previous reports which implied Apple couldn’t come to terms with labels over the royalties. A previous piece by The Music Void speculated Apple would slap a $20 a year price tag on the locker service. Read on…
Last week, we heard a new rumor that Hewlett-Packard was also considering launching a cloud locker of their own, also without labels’ approval. Those developments may have played into Apple’s favor and accelerated some labels’ decision to greenlight the iTunes cloud locker. As the saying goes: If you can’t beat them, join them.
