Apple Wants More Music Content Within the iTunes Store for WWDC08

by Jody Mitoma on May 22, 2008 at 12:54 pm

According to the NYTimes Technology Blog, Apple Inc. is currently in negotiation with music labels to try and provide more music content within their iTunes store.

It is being rumored that Apple is hoping to get these negotiatons done as soon as possible, hoping for “more” at this year’s WWDC08 presentation. However, since negotiations only started a few weeks back, the deals may not be made in time for a WWDC announcement.

Apple reportedly wants to expand their Ringtone library, and introduce the sales of Answer Tones, too. Answer Tones are customized sounds which play to callers waiting for the person they are calling to pick up their phone instead of the traditional - rather annoying - ring.

Additionally, MacRumors also states the following:

Another area of negotiation is the distribution of iTunes songs over the cellular network. For now, the iPhone allows you to purchase iTunes music only over Wi-fi networks. This had been thought to be a limitation of the slower EDGE data network, but it appears this mobile music distribution must be specifically negotiated with the record labels. Traditionally, these over-the-air cellular music sales have carried a premium over the traditional internet distribution, and the music labels are requesting a higher price for these sales. The expected addition of faster 3G data service on the upcoming iPhone will certainly increase consumer demand for over-the-air iTunes downloads.

(Source: MacRumors)

Posted in Apple Corporate, Apple Event, Downloads, News Related, Rumors