Apple, Music Labels Agree But iCloud Delays Still Loom Large

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Photo by fs999 - http://flic.kr/p/7bpxyE
Photo by fs999 - http://flic.kr/p/7bpxyE

It ain’t over until it’s over, Yogi Berra once said. The sports legend could have been talking about Apple’s attempt to lure the music industry onto the cloud. Just as an agreement to make your music accessible everywhere seemed at hand, publishers want more cash.

Up until now, the focus has been on music labels. Now comes word publishers feel slighted by the tech giant, a potential snag in Apple’s plans to offer a cloud-based music service able to top simple storage options already unveiled by Google and Amazon. While the last-minute disagreements are seen as only damaged egos, the dispute might delay any iCloud announcement during the upcoming WWDC.

Akin to the stumbling blocks encountered when Apple enticed the music industry online, another set of obstacles are created by cloud-based music. Cloud-based compensation is not mentioned by the U.S. Congress when publishing rights were hammered out, simply a 9.1 cent per-track rate for physical or digital distribution.

However, this is a case not of road blocks, but a speed bump. The music industry (both labels and publishers) hungrily-await the new revenue from cloud services, such as Apple’s iCloud. Apple wants the efforts to go forward, as do music lovers. A delay is still possible, but getting music from the cloud is practically signed, sealed and delivered.

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