Of course this would happen. According to the New York Post, Apple is low-balling record labels for the rights to use their music in a new music streaming service.
According to the article in the Post, Apple is offering labels 6c per 100 listens. That’s out of line from the 12c per 100 that Pandora pays out, not to mention the approximately 22c services backed by traditional radio pay, and Spotify’s 35c (or as much as 50c for on demand, going by other sources’ numbers).
Apple’s music service would presumably be paired with iTunes Match, and it’s described by the New York Post as an internet radio service, which would be different from the on-demand services (and higher on-demand rates) of Spotify or Rdio. But payouts to rights holders have recently gotten more complicated for internet radio companies like Pandora, and crazy low-ball offers like this one would seem to be Apple trying to elbow its way into the business without all the complications that the other guys live through. [New York Post]