Cupertino, Calif. – Apple (NASD: AAPL) has signed a deal with Universal Music to license songs for its forthcoming cloud-based storage and streaming iCloud service, meaning the service will launch with support from all four major labels, CNET reported, citing sources with knowledge of the talks.
Apple has also reportedly reached agreements with “some” of the large music publishers, with The New York Times citing sources who say the company has yet to license EMI Music Publishing or Warner/Chappell.
According to CNET’s sources, the agreements call for the record labels to take 58% of iCloud revenue, while publishers will get 12% and Apple will receive 30%.
The New York Post also is reporting that Apple will pay each major record label between $25 million and $50 million — or a total of between $100 million and $150 million — in up-front royalty payments.
The Post’s sources noted that these up-front payments are what stalled negotiations between Google and the major labels, but that the parties are still in talks, and Google may yet secure deals to offer a more advanced cloud service by September.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/424v3q8 (CNET)
http://tinyurl.com/3z89z4z (New York Post)
