It sure looks like it. And it’s no surprise it “took so long,” as some would complain: the previous administration’s Justice Department seemed to be big business’s BFF, and AG Eric Holder has made it pretty clear that he’s no Alberto Gonzales.

The story looks to have been sourced from a couple iof top players in teh Justice Department, and may have been timed to give Apple a shot at making concessions that would create a “win-win” for Justice, Apple, and, one would hope, consumers.

Apple’s inelastic pricing model, pressure tactics on content holders, and anti-competitive practices all strike me as the sort of issues of interest to Justice; I just wish they could do something about the gawdawful inconsistent and confusing metadata that makes it next to impossible to search for music on iTunes — a crime against music if ever there was one.