Universal Music Joins Apple’s iCloud Gang

Well, that makes four, folks! Apple has now secured a deal with Universal Music Group that grants access to the company’s music through Apple’s upcoming iCloud service. Universal is the last of the four major labels to sign up, with EMI, Sony and Warner joining the gang over the last few weeks.

Although it did not mention that music features would be part of the service, Apple did confirm that the iCloud service would be announced at WWDC on Monday, and if recent speculation is correct, we may soon be able to say goodbye to all the music files that take up valuable storage on our iOS devices and stream our favorite tracks from the cloud instead…

In addition to revealing Apple’s new deal with Universal, sources for CNET have also revealed how the revenue from iCloud will be split: the music labels with get 58%, publishers will receive 12% and Apple will take its familiar 30% cut. Music streaming services will not be available from Monday, but will be offered soon, and will only support music purchased from the iTunes store, the sources said.

Separate sources for the LA Times report conflicting information, however – they say the iCloud service will require a fee of $25 a year to enjoy its services, which will be split as follows: 30% to the labels, 12% to publishers, and 58% to Apple.

With Universal now on board Apple has the rights to music from artists such as Kanye West, Lady Gaga, and U2; but the Cupertino company still has to iron things out as far as publishing and performance rights go.