Apple asking Internet radio stations for iTunes Radio cover art

iTunes Radio (teaser, iPod touch, iPad, MacBook Air, Apple TV)

As its iTunes Radio launch draws closer, Apple has begun sending out emails to owners of Internet radio stations asking that they provide cover art for future use on iTunes and mobile devices.The move suggests that the company is looking to feature independent streaming music stations, alongside its premium iTunes content, in the upcoming service…

MacRumors has a copy of the email:

Dear Internet Radio Provider,

Cover Art

The iTunes Store now requires cover art for Internet Radio stations. The cover art files must be 1400 x 1400 pixels in JPG or PNG format using RGB color space. The image URL must end in “.jpg”, “.jpeg” or “.png”. To add cover art to your station, send an email to itunesradio@apple.com including your contact name, station name and cover art file.

Cover art should avoid pixelation. Any text should be legible at reduced image sizes on small devices. Note that Internet Radio cover art is not currently displayed.

Questions about iTunes Radio?

Check out iTunes Radio here.

Regards,

The iTunes Internet Radio Team

To get an idea of what this could mean to us users, pop open your iTunes app on your PC or Mac and locate the ‘Radio’ tab. Here you’ll find about 30 different genre channels that break down into thousands of different Internet radio stations. Now, imagine these streams being organized, and curated, and available on your mobile device with a single tap.

itunes 11 radio

Of course, this is still speculation at this point. But users have long been calling for Apple to offer access to its collection of Internet radio stations through iOS, and iTunes Radio seems like the perfect platform to do it. Such a move would also add an interesting dynamic to Apple’s budding music service that might draw in folks that otherwise wouldn’t have used it.

After months of ‘iRadio‘ rumors, Apple unveiled iTunes Radio during its June WWDC event. The service will be free, with advertisements, and ad-free for those with iTunes Match memberships. And it’s expected to launch sometime this fall.