Apple might be very close to landing licensing agreements with all four major labels for its cloud-based music service. Deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are reportedly almost complete.
The company is rumored to have inked a deal with EMI and an agreement has supposedly already been secured with Warner Music Group. Citing "multiple industry sources," CNET is reporting that deals with Sony and Universal will soon follow.
Although Google and Amazon beat Apple to the punch with their own cloud-based music offerings, Apple could be the only company offering a licensed cloud-based music locker. Amazon launched its cloud player sans licenses in March, and has faced threats of legal action. Google unveiled Google Music, also without music label deals, at its I/O conference earlier this month. If Apple were to launch a fully licensed service, it would push the other two companies to seek licensing as well, CNET noted.
Though unconfirmed, a cloud-based music service, which has been repeatedly described as a "locker," would allow users to access their iTunes library from anywhere, via an Internet-connected device. If word of the deals with music labels is true, that would put Apple on track to announce the music locker next month at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which kicks off June 6.
One of the advantages to Apple's rumored product is that users wouldn't have to spend time uploading their songs to the service (like they do with Google and Amazon). Instead, using a "scan and match" process, tracks would be added almost instantly, using technology from Lala, a music service Apple acquired in December 2009.
Reps from Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment, and none of the labels have spoken on the matter.