“Highlighting ongoing tension between the music industry and Apple Inc., Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group is set to notify the Cupertino, Calif. company that it is not renewing a long term contract to sell digital music downloads through the increasingly powerful iTunes Store, according to people familiar with the situation,” Ethan Smith and Nick Wingfield report for The Wall Street Journal.
“The move does not mean, however, that Universal will remove its vast catalog… from iTunes in the foreseeable future. Instead, Universal, which is the world’s largest music company by market share, expects to go to a short-term sales agreement,” Smith and Nick Wingfield report. “Though it is unlikely to have sweeping effects immediately, the change could give Universal more flexibility in its dealings with competitors to iTunes.”
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