Universal is allegedly to take on iTunes, the leading online music download service. BusinessWeek reports that Universal chief Doug Morris is enlisting other big music players for a new online service. Among those mentioned is heavyweight Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, another potential partner.

The three music giants control "only" about 75 percent of the U.S. music market (interestingly, iTunes has grabbed about 70 percent of the music downloads in the U.S.). The service will reportedly be named Total Music, BusinessWeek claims.

Universal Music Group, world’s largest record company, has declined in early July to continue working on an exclusive basis with Apple’s iTunes service. "Universal Music Group has decided not to renew its long-term agreement for Apple’s iTunes service. Universal Music Group will now market its music to iTunes in an ‘at will’ capacity, as it does with its other retail partners," the company said at the time.

The three-year deal signed almost four years ago was prolonged for a year in 2006, with a one-year temporary agreement. However, Universal’s recent refusal to continue working with Apple in the same terms showed the media giant’s intention to emancipate from the latter’s tight grip on music sales.

Although iTunes has proven profitable for Universal (with sales estimated exceeding $200 million through the online service), the reasons behind the cooling of their relation could be related not only to money, but also to Universal’s future plans to sell its music through other channels, avoiding the monopolistic position of Apple. UMG is holding approximately 30 percent of the world’s music market, with one-in-three tracks being released under its umbrella.

Universal artists have not vanished from the iTunes list, since Apple’s online service is now US’ third largest music retailer and one of Universal’s constant revenue sources. Instead, the two companies have agreed to update their contract monthly.

In August, Universal Music Group announced that a significant portion of its music catalogue will be available without the pesky DRM protection in the unprotected MP3 format at several online retailers, including RealNetworks, Wal-Mart, Amazon and even Google. The big surprise was that Apple’s iTunes service was left out of this “promotion”.

"Universal Music Group is committed to exploring new ways to expand the availability of our artists' music online, while offering consumers the most choice in how and where they purchase and enjoy our music," Morris said in August.

It looks like he's doing just that.