Your days of streaming Jay-Z and Usher to your iPhone using iTunes may coming soon. According to CNET, Apple may have signed a deal with EMI to bring its music catalog to a rumoured online version of iTunes.
Unlike Amazon and Google which launched their online music services without the blessing of the music industry, Apple is securing deals with the major record labels first. Besides Warner and EMI, Apple could ink deals with Sony Music Group and Universal Music Group in the next few weeks. If Apple manages to get all four major labels on board, they could rival Amazon and Google with features the other two services could only dream about.
Sources won’t say what these licensed features may be, but the biggest one for me would be the ability to stream my music without having to spend five hours uploading it first. Online music purchasing and sharing would also be sweet. [CNET]