The Wall Street Journal has a few more details on the negotiations taking place between Universal and Apple. It looks like Universal is looking for a short term agreement rather than the current longer term agreement. Such a new agreement would give Universal the ability to better control how and where its music is sold. And Apple could lose access to the Universal catalog with very short notice.
Negotiations between the labels and Apple have run disagreement over tiered pricing, subscription models and Apple’s unwillingness to license its FairPlay DRM to other DAP manufacturers. The record labels also share concerns about Apple’s dominance of the digital music market.
Universal has also indicated that it could sell its music in a DRM-free format but it’s not clear if such a move will happen with Apple.