Fans Line Up Early for WWDC 2015 at Moscone Center

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple's iTunes helped change the way music-lovers bought their favorite songs.

Now, the maker of iPods and iPhones wants to carve out a leading role in a revolution well underway, with a new, paid streaming-music service set to launch this summer.

With millions of listeners already tuning in to streaming outlets like Pandora and Spotify, analysts and music-industry sources say Apple has been gearing up to launch its own service.

Apple is expected to announce the service at its annual conference for software developers, which kicks off Monday at the World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Early Monday morning, Apple fans were already snaking around the Moscone Center. One fan, Brian Kieffer from Denver, showed up on Sunday at noon.

"I came out last year with fine folks and it became a tradition to hang out with cool people," he said. "The new stuff that Apple's coming out with, the watch is fantastic. It's all very exciting. I'm a big Mac fan going way back."

Daniel Van Der Merwe flew in from Capetown, South Africa. "It's a great networking event to meet great people. It's just the right place if you're a developer," he said.

In a keynote session, CEO Tim Cook and other executives are also expected to show off new features in Apple's operating software for iPhones, iPads and Macintosh computers, as well as tools for building new apps for the Apple Watch.

Analysts also expect enhancements to the mobile-payment service known as Apple Pay.

NBC Bay Area's Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us