According to a report in the Financial Times, Apple is in talks with music companies about offering an all-you-can-listen music plan for customers buying an iPhone or iPod. Citing executives familiar with the negotiations, Apple is discussing offering a 1-time fee for users to download unlimited tunes; the Times report said that the deal is stuck on disputes over how much Apple is willing to pay for access to the labels’ libraries.
Nokia currently offers an all-you-can-download music subscription model, for free for the first 12 months when a user purchases a new music-enabled handset. Under Nokia’s offer, users keep the tracks once their subscription expires, though the files are DRM-protected.
The Times report estimates that users would pay up to $100 for unlimited access to music for the lifetime of the device, or a monthly fee of $7-$8 for a subscription model.