Is the end of free music streaming in sight?

If Apple is encouraging record labels to help put an end to cost-free music streaming services, as reported this week by The Verge, in order to crush the competition before launching its own platform developed with Beats Music, what's at stake for the major players?

For months now, major record labels have been requesting increased restrictions on the free streaming services offered by Spotify and Deezer, in order to incentivize users to opt into paid subscriptions.

Currently, most music streaming platforms offer a free and unlimited option that comes with certain caveats, such as advertisements, inferior encoding quality and random-only listening on mobile devices (by artist and/or album). In addition, non-paying users are not able to access the platform's music while offline -- an option offered to premium subscribers.

Artists in favor of paid subscriptions

Another sign that the days of free music streaming are numbered is that platforms such as Qobuz and Tidal, which specialize in high-fidelity streaming, no longer offer a free option. Unlike Spotify and Deezer, Tidal -- which offers 25 million tracks in the lossless FLAC format and 75,000 high-definition videos -- is operated directly through recording artists. Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Madonna, Jack White, Kanye West, Rihanna and Daft Punk are among participating musicians, along with Taylor Swift, who agreed to put her music on Tidal in spite of removing it from competing platforms.

Artists are increasingly enthusiastic about streaming as a source of income, especially since in 2014, for the first time, the overall turnover from music streaming was higher than that of record sales in the US, according to the RIAA.

Dissatisfied with current compensation models, several stars have refused to allow their music to be distributed through mass-market streaming platforms, making free and unlimited offers seem more destined to disappear than ever.