How Spotify Almost Sold To Google For $1 Billion, Plus New Apple Rumors

"Apple, Inc. (AAPL) in negotiations to acquire Spotify," read the tip that came in yesterday via email from an anonymous source. Most tips are just outright false, but we dug into this one a little bit.

Here's what we heard - Apple and Spotify are in on-again, off-again discussions about an acquisition, but at best it's very early in the process. No firm price has been offered, no term sheet tabled. Still, it's interesting that the two are talking.

But way more interesting is this - Last year, around the time that Apple acquired music service Lala, Google and Spotify were deep in acquisition discussions, says a source with knowledge of the negotiations.

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