• CNet, Friday, October 8, 2010 1:08 PM

When will U.S. consumers get access to streaming music service Spotify? Well, having already missed two promised launch dates, the Stockholm-based company is promising to finally debut by late December. By then, company managers swear they'll have licensing deals with the four top record labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music. Yet, music industry sources tell CNet that Spotify's latest self-imposed launch deadline could come and go without so much as a drumbeat.

"Some of the labels are unconvinced of Spotify's business model and its ability to get people to pay for music," CNet reports. "Apple executives have expressed concern to the labels that a free music service here could undercut already lackluster download sales," while, "At least one label chief, Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, has lost confidence in ad-supported models." According to sources, the labels are therefore asking for big upfront royalty fees -- something Spotify might not have to scratch to support.

Read the whole story at CNet »