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News
Apple Negotiating for More iPhone Music Features
Sunday, May 18th, 2008 at 4:00 PM - by Jeff Gamet
Apparently Apple is negotiating with the major record labels to bring additional music-related content to the iPhone, and is hoping to finalize deals in time to make a June announcement. Sources close to the negotiations claim Apple is looking to bring more ringtones, ringback tones, and over-the-air music downloads to its combination iPod and smart phone, according to the New York Times.
Apple is targeting "a big launch in June," according to one music executive familiar with the talks.
The deals the Cupertino-based company is hoping for, however, may not come in time for an announcement at its World Wide Developer Conference in early June. The record labels have been pushing for variable song pricing, which could be a sticking point since Apple has been resistant to changing its flat US$0.99 per song policy.
The record labels are also pushing for higher song prices when users download from wireless cell data networks instead of Wi-Fi networks. According to the labels, music downloads from cell networks add some form of ethereal value that warrants paying more than a dollar per track.
Assuming Apple does reach an agreement with the music labels, cell network music downloads likely wouldn’t be available until the company launches the second generation iPhone with its rumored support for 3G data networks. The iPhone currently relies on slower EDGE data networks when Wi-Fi isn’t available, and doesn’t offer the bandwidth needed to download songs as quickly as 3G.
Striking a deal for additional ringtones and 3G music downloads could prove to be a win-win situation for Apple and the record labels. Consumers could see additional value in the new music-related offerings, and record labels would have yet another avenue for pushing their products.
Apple has not commented on the alleged negotiations.
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