In today's "when hell freezes over" category, Engadget is reporting that the folks over in Cupertino are currently in discussions with major music outfits about a new model that could essentially "give customers free access to the entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone devices," according to a subscription-only Financial Times article.

Strikingly, the company is reported to be considering a version of Nokia's "Comes with Music" service that could be used on both iPhones and iPods. Meanwhile, subscriptions would be reserved for the iPhone—a device which has a monthly billing relationship already attached to it, the report said.

We'd be surprised if Apple went down this route. Steve Jobs has denied this many times in the past. Then again, he's gone down on record as saying that Apple wouldn't do well in the cell phone business, too, so you never know.