With just a few days left until Apple is expected to announce a revamped and renamed version of its Beats Music streaming service, Bloomberg reports that the company is still negotiating terms with record labels.
Bloomberg, via MacRumors:
The labels are pushing to get a larger chunk of revenue than they receive under their current deals with Spotify Ltd., a competing streaming service, people familiar with the negotiations said. Both sides want to complete a deal before Apple’s June 8 annual event in San Francisco for more than 5,000 developers, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are continuing.
In their current deal with Spotify, the labels receive 55% of the $9.99 monthly fee the service takes in from subscribers. Publishers take a 15% chunk of the income. Apple has reportedly been negotiating terms that would allow it to offer its new streaming service at $7.99 per month, but it was forced to back down after the music labels pushed back.
Also, Apple had been reported to be working to persuade the label to stop offering licensing for the freemium service tiers that Spotify and other services offer. Apple does not plan to offer such a tier with its service. The European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice are reported to be scrutinizing the Cupertino company’s negotiations with the record labels over this matter.
If Apple still plans to unveil its new music streaming service at WWDC 2015, it will need to have deals in place with the music companies. Apple’s plans reportedly include a revamped and rebranded Beats Music service, a revamped iTunes Radio service, and will continue to offer traditional paid downloads of music. They are also reportedly working to offer such exclusive content as behind-the-scenes videos, and pages where artists can host videos, songs, and other content via a service called Apple Connect.
