iTunes Radio details

MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: On that subject, separate stories in Gigaom and AdAge predict that Apple’s entry into the fray will have a lot in common with good ol’ terrestrial radio—the free, ad-supported version, that is. When it launches next month, iTunes Radio will boast 12 high-profile brand partners including McDonald's, Nissan, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble. The deals range from the high single-digit millions of dollars to tens of millions of dollars and include a 12 month advertising campaign to run within the streaming music service for each of the participating brands. The launch partners will get exclusivity within their respective industries through the end of the year, at which point ads on iTunes Radio will become widely available, provided an advertiser agrees to the minimum buy-in of around $1 million. Users will be served an audio ad once every 15 minutes and one video ad every hour. Some of the launch partners will also be curating playlists that have fewer ads than typical iTunes Radio stations. As AdAge notes, the new audio and video inventory will make the company’s iAd network more attractive. But Apple and the labels are hopeful that iTunes Radio's greatest revenue generator will be its ability to get users to actually buy music via a purchase button will be placed next to every song played. (8/21a)