Taking the TIDAL route of big musical acts to generate buzz, Apple has their eyes set on landing David Guetta, Drake, and Pharrell for the relaunch of their iTunes Radio streaming service. While Apple is learning from the mistakes of the artist-owned platform (like giving users a free 3-month trial), that’s not to say it hasn’t had its own share of struggles. An estimated $19 million deal with Drake would really put them on the map, but Apple still hasn’t be able to lock in any deals with major record labels, an issue that would leave the platform dead in the water. Part of the reason could be Apple’s questionable strategies to get labels like Universal Music Group to revoke free music rights for consumers, such as pulling music from YouTube, and avoid paying labels for the rights for users to stream music during the free trial period.
Whatever the case may be, following in TIDAL’s marketing footsteps is probably a bad move, considering their massive flop over the course of the past two months. Either way, Apple is running out of time, as June 8th Worldwide Developer Conference is only a week away. If Apple and TIDAL continue to fail, maybe there’s a chance that consumers can help keep music streaming in their favor.
Source: The Verge
Photo: XS Nightclub / Retna Digital
