Could Apple Turn Itself into a Record Label?

Apple has all the money in the world. At the rate at which cash came in during the last quarter, Apple made more money in three weeks than all the major labels did in an entire year. Apple could literally buy up the entire recording industry and Hollywood and still have plenty of cash left over.

We also know that Apple is working on launching a streaming music service later this year. What might it look like? Could it have the attributes of…a record label? TechCrunch takes a look.

You better believe that when Apple’s streaming music service comes out later this year, it’s going to come hard. Apple’s MO is to arrive late but with superior firepower, as it did with the iPhone and will with the upcoming Apple Watch. What does that mean for its quest to steamroll Spotify, Google Play, Deezer, and everyone else in streaming? I’d bet part of it will be big exclusives, offering music you can’t stream anywhere else.

Apple denied unsubstantiated rumors that it would acquire Taylor Swift’s label Big Machine this weekend, but that idea doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Yes, The Beatles’ label happened to be called Apple Records, but what if Apple Computer got into the business of owning music itself?

Keep reading.  Meanwhile, you know that the people at Spotify are watching the situation very closely. What must they do to fight back? Maybe this.