Report Says iRadio Will Offer Both Audio Ads And Regular iAds

With Apple widely expected to officially introduce the so-called iRadio service next week at WWDC, AdAge is offering some new information about the streaming music solution. Most notably, sources told the publication that the service will contain both audio ads along with the familiar iAds:

The audio ads will be sold via iAd, Apple's mobile ad network, according to a former Apple executive with knowledge of the situation. In addition to audio ads, the streaming music service will also contain the mobile ads iAd currently sells.

Audio ads usually cost more, and will be a boon to the ad network, which has struggled to gain traction since its introduction in 2010. And unlike current streaming services Spotify or Rdio, Apple’s main goal is to sell more songs via iTunes, according to the report:

Selling interstitial audio ads -- ones that play between songs -- will allow Apple to offer the service free to users as is typical with most streaming music services. One music industry executive familiar with the negotiations between Apple and the major record labels said the terms of iRadio are more favorable for record labels than other streaming services because iRadio is expected to drive more song downloads. iRadio users will be able to purchase the song they are listening to through iTunes. Syncing with iTunes Match ($24.99 per year) will allow users to own those songs forever, keep them in Apple's cloud-based storage service and access them on any iOS device. However, the service will not allow users to search for and play a specific song on-demand, like with Spotify.

Since being first rumored earlier this year, the iRadio saga has taken a few twists and turns. Thanks to disagreements with the record labels, the music service’s future looked dim in the spring. But two recent reports have stated that Apple has closed some important deals and hopes to unveil iRadio during Monday’s WWDC keynote.

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