Apple to buy Swell, a talk-radio app, for $30 million, report says

Apple Inc. is reportedly set to pay $30 million to acquire Swell, a Pandora-like app for Internet talk radio.

The deal was reported late Sunday night by Re/Code, which cited multiple anonymous sources. Neither Apple nor the Mountain View, Calif., start-up responded to requests for comment.

Swell plays podcasts in continuous streams that personalize for each user over time based on the programs they listen to and skip. Swell is currently available for Apple iOS devices and has a beta version for Android. The app will shut down this week, according to Re/Code.

If the acquisition is completed, Swell will be Apple’s second audio streaming purchase this year, after acquiring Beats Music in May as part of a $3-billion purchase that also included headphone maker Beats Electronics. Beats Music lets users stream more than 20 million songs for $9.99 per month.

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