Apple Wants iTunes Radio To Be as Big as Madonna

Now that Tidal has, so far, proven to be simply a Nice Idea, Apple is stepping up its iTunes Radio game and attempting to recruit the likes of Drake, Pharrell and David Guetta as guest DJs for its Beats ~~by Dre~~ streaming service.

Whether or not the musicians are taking the bite, though, is another story. Reports The Verge:

At the start of this month The Verge learned that Apple had not yet signed a deal with Universal Music Group, whose artist roster includes Drake. Some of Apple’s struggles could be a result of its aggressive tactics, which include pressuring labels to force Spotify to abandon its free tier and trying to get UMG to pull its music from YouTube.

I feel like Drake is the kind of guy who likes to play a bit hard to get anyway, though, no?

Even if Apple doesn’t manage to snag Drake, Guetta, or Pharrell, it’s not surprising the company would try to increase iTunes Radio’s appeal with celebrity. Apple’s deal with Drake could go as high as $19 million, the Post reports.

All this corporate talk makes me long for the good ol’ days, when music was this stuff that people who liked to make it, did that; and people who liked to listen to it, they did that, too. Slash, I used to make a mean mix tape.