But Apple is trying to kill free music, and it isn't the first time. The company has a playbook for this sort of thing, penned by founder Steve Jobs.

Apple is reaching out to artists about curating their own channels for its streaming service Beats Music, which is expected to be unveiled in June.

Beats will be a streaming service, like Spotify. But unlike its rival, Apple's product is expected to be a subscription-only service.

With Beats Music, Apple is trying to insert itself between two groups – consumers and record labels. Consumers have shown, yet again, that there is a huge demand for free music. Record labels and artists want them to pay for it. And now Apple appears to believe that there is money to be made by getting involved.