Cnet is reporting that Apple now has all four major record labels signed up ready for the launch on Monday of its iCloud music storage system. The last one to sign is Universal Music with its stable of artists including Lada Gaga.
Apple has cut a licensing deal with Universal Music Group that will enable Apple's online music store to offer songs from the largest of the four top record companies, sources with knowledge of the talks told CNET.
The agreement means Apple now has the rights to offer recordings from all of the major labels. In addition, Apple has reached agreements with some of the large music publishers, the sources said.
Apple announced Tuesday that it would unveil a long-anticipated service called iCloud on June 6 at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple did not disclose whether iCloud would include any music features, but we do know that Apple managers have sought for more than a year to create a music feature for the service.
Details about the agreements are few, but here's how the revenue from iCloud song sales will be split, according to the sources: the labels will get 58 percent, and publishers will receive 12 percent. Apple will take 30 percent.
Streaming will not be available on Monday but will be offered soon, the sources said. They added that an Apple digital locker will store only music purchased at iTunes. The company is said to have plans to store songs acquired from outside iTunes sometime in the future.
(Via: cnet)
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