Apple is reportedly considering a potential takeover bid for Jay-Z's music-streaming service Tidal.
According to The Wall Street Journal, "exploratory talks" are taking place - it cites "people familiar with the matter."
In the battle to become the 'go-to' service for music streaming, both Apple Music and Tidal are playing catch-up with Spotify, the early front-runner in the industry.
Curation and control of exclusive content have become the two main fronts in the battle to get ahead.
Tidal's main competitive advantage is its links to high profile artists, it recently secured exclusive rights to stream two of 2016's biggest releases - Kanye West's The Life of Pablo, and Beyonce's Lemonade.
Acquiring the company could help Apple to beef up Apple Music with more exclusive content, and sophisticated curation technology.
Jay-Z bought the service in March 2015 for $56m with 19 of the world's top artists taking small stakes, including Daft Punk, Madonna, Arcade Fire and Chris Martin.
However, the company has had problems - going through three CEOs in one year.
It has 4.2 million paying subscribers - in one year Apple Music has attracted 15 million. They both trail behind Spotify's 30 million paying subscribers and 70 million free users.
Tidal's premium HiFi offering costs €19.99 across Europe - with the basic premium package priced at €9.99, the same price as Apple Music and Spotify.
