Apple nears online streaming deal

service, says Groovy Gecko.

The firm claims it is on track to sign deals with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, among others, with the firm already having a deal in place with Warner Music Group for the licensing of its artists.

As a result, Apple's entry into the cloud-based music sector looks to be gathering pace and will likely be completed before the year is out.

According to The Register, the deal will allow Apple to host a cloud-based music service related to its iTunes digital music store.

Users will be able to buy songs, store them on a cloud service run by Apple and stream them to their devices, potentially limited to Apple products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

The service is apparently already developed, so it will likely be only weeks before the release. Apple will undoubtedly be keen to get its iTunes cloud out there as soon as possible to counter any advantage its rivals have gained with their earlier releases.

The streaming music service could make its official debut as early as 6 June in San Francisco, according to Los Angeles Times.

This is when Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to start. Apple has said so far that this year's WWDC will focus on the future of Mac OS X and iOS, its two operating systems.

But last year Apple used the event to unveil Ping, its music-focused social network built into iTunes, its music and apps online storefront, Pham noted in her report.