image via CNET

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think there's more than we realize behind Apple's decision to approve a streaming music application from Spotify for use on the iPhone.

For a while we had heard that the app would be denied for obvious but unstated reasons - that it competes with Apple's iTunes. Historically, Apple has also rejected apps that "duplicate existing phone functionality." So approving Spotify represents yet another divergence.

CNET, which offers a nice video preview of the app, had this to say:

But rumors haven't subsided that Spotify will soon make waves in the US by, for starters, pushing their streaming-music service in the States. Ironically, Spotify has seemingly found an unlikely ally in Apple, which may very well be interested in testing the waters against other subscription based music services. Or, Apple is simply growing confident enough in its brand rather than its lock on music sales to stand up to an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Either way, music lovers have got to be happy about this development and the possibilities that emerge from it.