If the latest reports are to be believed, two of the big four record labels are getting ready to tell Apple where to stick it.

Universal and Sony BMG are said to be in the midst of planning a new subscription service that could rival the iTunes store. The two companies are also reportedly looking to get device makers on board, bundling the subscription into the player at an estimated extra cost of $90.

For those of you keeping score, that makes three major studios to be driven off by Apple's seemingly heavy-handed negotiation tactics.

12 Oct 2007

The service may not take off, but the number of content providers leaving could start to pile up for Apple. The alternatives to iPod and the iTunes store may still suck, but if Apple can't keep any content in the store, it may not survive long enough to take advantage when these various solo ventures go down in flames.

Worse yet, what if one of these things actually takes off, and we face a future of second-rate Zune-style music players and crappy subscription music services?