Apple has confirmed that it will hold its 26th annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) from June 8-12 at San Francisco’s Moscone West – where it’s expected to launch its much-anticipated on-demand streaming service.
It is believed that Apple’s new music platform – which may or may not carry Beats branding – will cost punters $9.99 a month with no free tier, despite attempts by the Cupertino giant to license it for less.
Industry whispers suggest that the first day of WWDC, June 8, has been pencilled in for its public unveiling.
Users will presumably then be given three options for their music listening by Apple: traditional downloads via iTunes, personalised radio via iTunes Radio and on-demand streaming via the new Spotify rival.
“We’ve got incredible new technologies for iOS and OS X to share at WWDC.”
Philip Schiller, Apple
Apple is understood to be negotiating exclusive content from the likes of Taylor Swift and Florence & The Machine for its new paid-for service, in a strategy that goes head-to-head with Jay Z’s Tidal platform.
WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions, over 1,000 Apple engineers as well as the Apple Design Awards which showcase the best new apps in the last year.
“The App Store ignited an app ecosystem that is simply amazing, forever changing the lives of customers and creating millions of jobs worldwide,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
“We’ve got incredible new technologies for iOS and OS X to share with developers at WWDC and around the world, and can’t wait to see the next generation of apps they create.”
Select Worldwide Developers Conference sessions will be live streamed throughout the week via the WWDC website and the WWDC app.Music Business Worldwide
