Nine Inch Nails frontman, Oscar-winning soundtrack composer, and new Apple employee Trent Reznor is reportedly leading the development of a redesigned Beats Music app that could see release as part of iOS 8.4, according to The New York Times. Last October, Reznor revealed that he was working on a secret project for Apple thought to be in the music delivery field. Working alongside Reznor is Beats cofounder Jimmy Iovine, as well as other employees from Apple and Beats.
The NYT also confirms a number of details surrounding Apple’s relaunch of Beats Music that have already been revealed, including Apple’s desire to have exclusive content on iTunes and the plan to include it in the next major version of iOS. It also backed up earlier reports that Apple attempted to price its new service at $7.99 per month, undercutting many competitors by $2. The record labels apparently pushed back, and now it seems Apple will stay in line at $9.99 per month when its service launches.
Also part of Apple’s digital music platform overhaul is a redesigned iTunes Radio, which will remain as the company’s free-to-stream service. The publication said Apple tapped new hire D.J. Zane Lowe to reconfigure the service. Lowe, a Grammy-nominated tastemaker credited with jumpstarting the careers of Adele and Gnarls Barkley, was one of BBC Radio’s most popular personalities before leaving for Apple earlier this month.
Plans for iTunes Radio are still in flux, but the report cites music executives as saying the service could put a greater emphasis on regional programing with Lowe as its “voice.”
Rumors have suggested that Apple’s revamped music service will debut at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, alongside a new streaming television service and a new Apple TV set-top box.