Although this is rumored, it seems highly plausible: Had the contracts they signed with the labels included paying royalties, they would be giving away a produ

Although this is rumored, it seems highly plausible: Had the contracts they signed with the labels included paying royalties, they would be giving away a product far below cost for 3 months. Spotify and friends could file a complaint that this is anti-competitive behavior. It could be argued that Apple used its financial power to lose money for three months to thwart real competition in the market. Amazon was accused of doing this will digital books by selling them all below cost, although ironically Apple was the one that got in trouble. What happens now is unclear. Can Apple argue they didn’t intend to be anti-competitive from the beginning or will people go after them anyways. I suspect the latter is guaranteed.