Apple will launch a streaming service in a few hours..
Apple will launch its streaming service on Monday, June 8, according to Sony Music Entertainment CEO Doug Morris. Over the past few weeks there have been reports suggesting that Tim Cook and company were struggling to nail down crucial deals with indie and major labels alike, leaving the timely launch of the streaming platform hanging in the balance. But, in his “Visionary Talk” at Midem in Cannes today, June 7, Morris said, “It’s happening tomorrow.”
Morris went on to say that Apple would bring to the table “$178 billion dollars in the bank and 800 million credit cards in iTunes.” And in his opinion, Apple will “make a big splash,” unlike Spotify, which “has never really advertised.” He said, “My guess is that Apple will promote this [the new service] like crazy and I think that will have a halo effect on the streaming business.”
For Morris, the transition from downloads to streaming “is a tipping point in the music industry. In the last 10 years the industry has halved: it was a $30bn business, now it’s a $15bn business. Think of all the people who’d like to work in this industry and who can’t. But I think this tipping point will bring it back to where it was before.”
Morris took the example of Sweden where the business “is back to where it was 10 years ago. Europe and the USA will go the same and we be will back to having an industry that is healthy, robust and powerful. You can’t have a streaming service without music, so we are really in a great position. All these companies cannot work without music!”
Morris praised Spotify founder Daniel Ek for doing “an incredible job with Spotify” but he had the highest praise for his friend (they speak twice a day on the phone) Jimmy Iovine, who joined Apple after leaving Universal, when the firm bought Beats for $3bn. “Jimmy is one of the best music people you could ever meet, and it was very smart of Apple to bring him in,” said Morris. However, Morris did not disclose whether Sony had made a licensing deal with the new service.
Morris added that the arrival of Apple in the crowded streaming market would benefit to the industry as a whole. “A rising tide will lift all boats,” he said. “I think it is the the beginning of an amazing moment for our industry. It is coming and it is coming fast, and after all we’ve been through all these past years, we deserve some happiness.”
Source: Music Week
