In the four years that Apple has been the dominant force in the music business, the four major labels that license their music to its iTunes store have been, by most accounts, on the receiving end of Apple's "here's how it's going to be" approach.

UMG artist 50 Cent.

As its continued dispute with Apple over pricing and interoperability lingers, Universal Music Group (UMG) hopes to do something to tip the scales back in its favor.

According to reports today in both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, UMG plans to notify Apple that it won't renew its long-term deal to license its music to iTunes. UMG's artist roster includes some of the biggest names in music, from U2 and 50 Cent to Eminem and the Killers.

But Universal isn't going to pull its music from iTunes, a move that would send shockwaves through the industry. Instead, it hopes to renegotiate a short-term deal that it hopes would give it more leverage in the discussions and also allow it to ink an exclusive licensing deal with other digital retailers, such as Napster, Zune Marketplace, and Rhapsody.

The primary point of dispute between Universal and Apple is pricing. The major labels have long sought to sell their music at variable pricing, charging more for popular music than the 99-cent standard to which iTunes' customers have grown accustomed.

Apple has long resisted and only agreed to sell the music of UK label giant EMI for $1.29 a song because the music will be sold without DRM (digital rights management) technology that restricts what a user can do with purchased music.

Both EMI and Apple hope the DRM-free music yields higher sales for both, and EMI told Bloomberg last month that sales of its DRM-free music on iTunes have spiked, with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon jumping 350 percent the week after iTunes Plus launched.

Apple has declined to comment on the reports.