iRadio recap

PREPARING TO JUMP IN THE STREAM: With the 6/10 Developers Conference looming, is Apple ready to unveil its madly anticipated iRadio streaming service at last? As we've noted, Sony Music and Sony ATV are said to be on board in principle, though nothing's been signed yet (despite a fundamental agreement having been reached a while ago, according to observers); WMG and Warner/Chappell recently announced (following first-adopter UMG); and Universal Publishing is apparently (but not yet officially) also in. Having sweetened his terms to accommodate content holders (promising 10% of ad revenue to songwriters, among other concessions), SVP and content-service negotiator Eddy Cue—whose mug you'll find on the contents page of this week's mag—is clearly getting his ducks in a row. The market is feeling it, too, as evidenced by current streaming-radio leader Pandora's stock, which took what financial experts call "a gnarly dump," plunging 12% between Friday and Monday and continuing to dip today (it's currently at $14.20, having been up in the $17 range as recently as 5/31). Apple's own stock, responding to other pressures (a Samsung patent slapdown, a large sell-off by Fidelity, an antitrust investigation related to e-books, CEO Tim Cook's tax chat with Congress, etc.) is off close to 1% just now but still flying high at just over $445 a share. Expect a typically sparkly Apple presentation, if this rollout happens next week, and possibly the official arrival of the Spotify-killer. Fasten your seat belts. (6/5p)