Apple Reportedly Nailing Down Specifics With Labels For Impending Music Streaming Service

It's the rumor that just won't end: Apple is probably / maybe going to get into the music / radio streaming business. iTunes has set itself atop the world in terms of being a mainstream hub for music purchases, but these days, consumers want more flexibility. That's why services such as MOG, Spotify, and Google Music All Access are there: because a lot of people want to pay $10/month to stream just about everything, and then move on once their tastes change. To date, Apple doesn't offer anything like that, but it has evidently been in talks to create such a service for years. Terms with the record labels, naturally, seem to be the sticking point.


This week, The New York Times has published a new report that suggests how close Apple really is. With WWDC happening this month, Apple is reportedly already solid with at least two record companies. The issue now, seemingly, is getting the rest onboard. Negotiations seem to be going fairly well, though, so Apple may decide to introduce the service on June 10th at WWDC. It'd feature "Pandora-like" features, using the iTunes interface that's already embedded into millions of iOS products.


But here's the thing: how many millions of customers has Apple already lost by being so late to the game? Will Spotify users really ditch a great service and re-create all of their playlists with Apple's service?