The music world has always been a tough gig, but it just got tougher! In recent news, it has become clear that Vivendi is utterly pissed upset with Apple. Vivendi seems to be fighting Apple’s iPod + iTunes services with two approaches in order to reduce apple’s music download dominant share.

It started this summer when NBC Universal yanked their Fall shows from iTunes because Apple rightfully refused to charge $5 per TV episode (NBC Universal is 20% owned by Vivendi). In the end, NBC Universal moved their Fall season shows to Unbox Service from Amazon, which allows Tivo subscribers to download shows onto their Tivo digital video recorder (in my opinion a bad move!). Fast-forward to today, Universal Music Group (UMG) which is 100% subsidiary of Vivendi has decided to challenge Apple in creating their own music service.

While details of the emerging music service are in flux (currently covered by BusinessWeek), it appears that UMG is testing out two models:

Challenge the iPod Player

Provide an all-you-can-eat subscription service that’s FREE with the purchase of select devices. The thought is that hardware manufacturers will subsidize the subscription fee. Of course, the idea is to the subscription with Zune, the ailing media player from Microsoft.

Challenge the iTunes Store

Distribute music that’s playable on any devices via outlets such as Walmart, Google and Best Buy. The idea is to challenge Apple, which only offers a limited number of DRM free songs through the iTunes store.

Additional Challenges for UMG

While the fight between Universal Music Group and Apple is just starting, UMG is also facing challenges on a second front — their signed artists. In recent news, both Radiohead and Madonna have independently decided to leave their music labels making insiders wonder whether distributors are even necessary in this age of the internet.

Clearly, this is not a good time to get into the music world as things are only getting uglier.