One of 2012's most persistent rumors is rearing its head once more in the early days of 2013.
Sources in the know maintain that Apple is locked in talks with the recording industry's top labels in hopes of negotiating a deal that would allow Apple to launch its own dedicated digital radio service. Based on the latest chatter, the service looks set to launch this year.
The Pandora-like service, which would be advertising-supported, has been held up in talks so far because all parties involved are yet to figure out how they will share ad revenue.
Late Thursday, the tech blogosphere got wind of what well-connected BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield provocatively stated this week.
"Consumer behavior (is) increasingly shifting toward access to a music catalog from ownership of specific songs. We expect iRadio to be incorporated into the iTunes iOS app with personalized radio functionality akin to Pandora, integrated with iTunes to purchase music and other music related content such as concert information/tickets/merchandise via Live Nation (LYV) and Ticketmaster."
According to Greenfield, any further delays in the launch of the service will solely hing upon ironing out details over song catalogs and what they are worth.
Source: BTIG
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