Apple’s Music Streaming Service Launches Tomorrow At WWDC Says Sony Music CEO

In our coverage of the latest iPhone rumor yesterday, I mentioned that it's become harder than ever for Apple to keep a secret. With the upcoming iPhone, it was UK carrier Vodafone that gave us the leak, and for Apple's upcoming music service, it's none other than the CEO of Sony Music.

During an on-stage interview at the Midem Music Industry Festival in Cannes, France, Sony Music CEO Doug Morris revealed that Apple will be unveiling its music service during its WWDC event tomorrow. To Morris' benefit, the fact that Apple is set to reveal its music service at WWDC has been one of the industry's worst-kept secrets -- we reported on the possibility an entire month ago.

We also reported on it last week, when it was hinted that Apple's music service would cost the same as Spotify, $9.99, but wouldn't include a free tier. Instead, a small collection of songs would be made available for free, because ultimately, Apple wants people to shell out that $10/month. It's not clear at this point if Apple's service will offer student discounts, but it's definitely possible, since many competing services do.

What's really going to be interesting about this streaming service is seeing just how it will affect iTunes, a store that actually sells the music directly to customers. If someone buys at least one album per month, that $9.99/mo subscription fee is going to look like a no-brainer -- it'll give them that album and a lot more, provided they continue to pay.