ITunes is the leading music service in the United States with more than 70 percent of all digital music sales and it is the leading music retailer overall. But newer music streaming services from the likes of News Corp’s MySpace Music and Spotify have begun to win over music fans in the last year.

A source familiar with the matter said the iPod, iPhone and Mac maker is seeking new ways to expand iTunes to move it beyond being a predominantly download service for songs. “Apple recognizes that the model is going to evolve into a streaming one and this could probably propel iTunes to the next level,” said the source.