*Apple is in talks to sign a multimillion deal to get rapper Drake, French DJ David Guetta, and rapper/producer Pharrell as guest DJs for its revamped iTunes Radio.
Sohh reports that Drake is just one of a host of artists Apple wants for its huge all-encompassing assault on the music front.
Drake’s deal is rumored to be worth $19 million.
Drake and Pharrell were among the first celebrities to don pre-release Apple Watch Editions in April. Drake was seen wearing a yellow gold watch at music festival Coachella just days after Pharrell appeared on TV show “The Voice” sporting an identical model.
Apple aims to increase iTunes Radio’s appeal by using celebrities to sell the service, a tactic similar Tidal, Jay Z’s fledging high-quality audio streaming service.
Apple’s plan is to take the best of Pandora, Spotify and YouTube and blend it into something that will outperform them all. There are plans to stream music (and video), artists’ pages, a YouTube-style post-it-yourself destination called Apple Connect and a well-documented reboot of iTunes Radio.
Apple wants to offer users a three-month free trial period for the service (which will cost $10 per month), and it wants labels to give it music rights for free during that period. According to reports, the company doesn’t want pay for licensing rights, and is thus requesting labels waive fees for customer trials. The company is also asking for free lyrics.
Apple has been visiting record labels to make deals, ahead of its World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco on June 8, where the company is expected to introduce iTunes Radio and its new subscription platform.
Recent reports claim Kanye West and Apple were in negotiations.  It has been rumored that the rapper is distancing himself from Tidal, firing Roc Nation and managing himself. There’s also chatter that Yeezy’s long-delayed album will be connected to Apple Music’s launch.
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