Rumor: New MobileMe to cost $20/year, include music 'Locker'

According to sources from music news site The Music Void, Apple is pushing hard for labels to get on board with Apple's new MobileMe service for music storage and streaming called "Locker." The service, the site reports, will cost $20/year and be ready for launch sometime in April.

Informed sources say that Apple has sealed its deal with Warner and has been using that agreement to leverage the other labels to get the deals done in time for the April launch....These same sources tell me that although Universal Music and EMI are more or less pushovers, Apple may actually get some pushback from Sony.

This news comes just weeks after rumors had spread that Apple would announce a revamped MobileMe strategy alongside the iPad 2.

Most of those rumors thought Apple would make MobileMe a free service, attaching it to any sale of an iPhone, iPad, or iPod. Parts of MobileMe, like Find My iPhone/iPad, are already free. Since this rumor comes from the music industry side, it is surprising that the "Locker" product would be attached to MobileMe and not a cloud-based iTunes concept as many analysts have been predicting for years.

Would you sign up for a $20/year MobileMe service that included a "Locker" to store and stream your music? Let me know in the comments!