Will Apple’s streaming service make its deadline?

Will Apple’s streaming service make its June deadline? Apple itself has never set a definite launch date. But it’s always assumed the unveiling will take place at the Worldwide Developers Conference that month, alongside a revamped Apple TV set-top box and an early build of iOS 9.

Reports in the United States suggest that Apple is still in license negotiations with some key labels. However, the talks could finish in time for the conference.

Apple is apparently doing hard deals (described as “cut throat” in one report). It is reportedly offered to pay Universal Music Group its YouTube music licensing fee if the world’s biggest record label pulls its songs out of YouTube. It has approached over a dozen acts including Taylor Swift and Florence and the Machine to give them first exclusive rights to new material and partnerships.

With its own streaming service having no free tiers, it is also pushing major labels to put the pressure on services like Spotify and YouTube to abandon their no-cost tiers. (Apple’s iTunes Radio will continue as a free service).

Labels are already thinking this way. They are already making noises about withholding much of their catalogue from free tiers and releasing them only for paid premiums. This would certainly hurt a company like Spotify which has only 15 million subscribers out of 60 million active users.

Apple’s bigger problem is that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating if Apple's Beats Music will use its position as top seller of music downloads via the iTunes platform to put competitors at a disadvantage.

The FTC has approached music executives in America and Europe about the nature of the licensing negotiations, and if and how Apple uses its market clout to make it difficult for rivals.

The inquiry is still in early stages, and it’s not known how long it will take to complete.