Apple and Music Publishers Close to Agreement on Cloud Licensing, But Delays Still Possible

itunes 10 icon 150Late last week, we reported that despite having three of the four major labels on board with its plan for a cloud-based streaming service and the final label apparently close to signing a deal, Apple still needs to reach agreements with the music publishers before it can launch its service. At the time, we noted that the two sides were essentially on the same page, with only monetary compensation to be negotiated.

CNET now provides an update claiming that the two sides are actually quite close on the monetary issue, leaving only a small amount of negotiation. The report does caution, however, that unexpected delays can still pop up and that even seemingly simple negotiations can take significant amounts of time in the complex landscape of music sales.

Negotiations between Apple and music publishers have begun in earnest only recently but the amount of money that separates the two sides from reaching a deal is relatively small, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks. That said, these are cloud-licensing contracts, which are new and complex and there's still several ways Apple's service could be delayed, insiders say.

The report lays out how Apple and music publishers are having to forge into entirely new territory with their negotiations over cloud-based streaming services. Publishers are currently paid at a fixed rate of 9.1 cents per track sold either digitally or on physical media, a rate set by the U.S. Congress. Separate cloud streaming rights are not part of that package and thus Apple and the publishers have had to hash out new standards for the industry.

Reports indicate that labels and publishers are keen to have Apple launch its service quickly, looking to the service as another revenue-generating opportunity to help reverse declines in the industry and as a means to get Google and Amazon to reach similar agreements after those companies launched basic cloud services without the agreement of labels and publishers. That said, there is reportedly some tension between labels and publishers, with publishers apparently upset that labels have already claimed the vast majority of money Apple is prepared to pay for cloud streaming rights, leaving little for the publishers. The disagreements may primarily be posturing by the different parties, however, and thus it is likely that they can be overcome.

CNET does still expect Apple's cloud-based streaming service to debut at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, an event that begins in just two weeks.

Tag: CNET

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26 Maps Glass

Apple Reportedly Moving Ahead With Ads in Maps App

Sunday October 26, 2025 6:22 am PDT by
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
swift for android

Developers Can Now Make Android Apps With Apple's Swift

Sunday October 26, 2025 4:23 am PDT by
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android. The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...

Top Rated Comments

Popeye206 Avatar
188 months ago
Can't wait for the WDC and see what's new!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
talkingfuture Avatar
188 months ago
Looking forward to seeing what they have come up with for this and Mobile Me as a whole. Hopefully we won't have to wait long and it will be ready for WWDC.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Porchland Avatar
188 months ago
I doubt this whole thing can be a winner if it ends up isolating the benefits solely to iTunes-purchased media... except for those who have always & only purchased their media via iTunes.
That's why I think there is a good chance that this will be a two-option deal:

1. You can stream all of the tracks you have ever purchased from iTunes, add and delete tracks from you devices without syncing back to your iTunes computer, OTA sync changes from one device to your other devices, and re-download tracks that you have deleted accidentally,

and, if you're so inclined,

2. You can sign up for a subscription plan for $9.99-$14.99 a month (or included as part of an iCloud service with other features) that will allow you to stream any track in the iTunes database, create and edit playlists, and (maybe) burn CDs with limitations on the number of tracks and number of CDs you can burn each month.

That brings streaming to every iTunes user, allows Apple to brand the subscription plan as one of its iCloud services, and gives users a new option without taking anything away.

Apple could extend iCloud later with a catalog TV/movie tier that would be priced competitively with Netflix and with a tier for new shows that would compete with cable carriers. Those are technologically possible now, so it's purely a function of getting license rights from enough of a critical mass of Viacom, Disney, NBCU, etc., to market the tier as comprehensive.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnasher729 Avatar
188 months ago
I just want to park 30,000 songs somewhere so I can retire a bunch of iTunes music libraries, mostly CD rips, could that be a scenario with this service?

I'd read the small print what happens if they lose your data. Most likely you get your money back, which isn't very helpful if the service is free.

A cheap 1 TB terabyte drive, plus another drive for backup, will be cheaper and more reliable.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OllyW Avatar
188 months ago
I have no need whatsoever to put any of my music up on a server that is own, operated, controlled, and prowled by a corporation who's only objective is to find new and exciting ways to separate my money from my pocket. My home computer will do fine thank you very much.

I don't think it will be compulsory. :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbeagle Avatar
188 months ago

Knowing Apple it will cost a lot of money for something you can get else where for free, but as soon as Steve says its MAGICAL fanboys will run out and buy it. Apple uses MAGICAL clouds and it will completely change the way you look at life and the sky!!!!

Only if something really is BETTER will Apple fans go out and use it.

Are Apple fanboys using Ping in great numbers? No. Because it doesn't offer more than facebook/twitter/etc. yet. Are they using .ME in great numbers? No. Because it isn't better than Google mail, etc.

Just because you don't see what makes an iPad magical and 1000x better than an Android tablet, doesn't make you right and everyone else in the world wrong.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)