Specifics about Apple‘s revamped version of Dr. Dre’s Beats streaming service have begun to surface with the launch set for next month and it would seem that Apple will be reviving parts of their iTunes Ping social media / music platform to allow artists to engage with fans on a more intimate level.

This comes amid reliable speculation that the service will be priced well below that of it’s competitors (somewhere between $5-8/month), something the computer company can afford to do with its nearly $180B in free cash (that’s billion, as in they could buy the entire global music industry three times with their free cash… CASH! albeit overseas [a discussion of repatriation of cash is neither here nor there]). The service will also be deeply integrated with the iOS 8.4 Music app and boast an upgraded version of iTunes radio…

The service was initially set to launch on its announcment at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8 but has been delayed to release later in June (likely to iron out some bugs with iWatch functionality). With the iPhone gaining massive market share globally, this could be the next big thing for Apple…

Your move Spotify and Jay Z.

[s/o 9to5mac]

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