iLike, the Seattle online music service led by twin brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi, is looking to open an online music download store in conjunction with at least three major music studios, according to a CNET report citing unnamed sources in the music industry. CNET's Greg Sandoval didn't know the music studios that are involved in the talks, though his sources say the new store could open this summer.

If it happens, an iLike music store could create new competition for Apple's iTunes and Amazon.com's music download store almost overnight.

iLike has built a massive online audience of music lovers in part because of its popularity on Facebook. It now boasts more than 50 million registered users who use the service to discover new songs and connect with other like-minded music fans.

iLike makes some of its money by collecting referral fees for passing its members on to iTunes or other online retailers to make a purchase. CNET's Sandoval reports that "iLike is hopeful that it can profit from cutting out those middlemen."

Last fall, reports circulated that iLike -- backed by Ticketmaster, MTV co-founder Bob Pittman and others -- was looking for a buyer. But a deal was never completed.

It has experimented with full music downloads in the past, announcing a deal with RealNetworks' Rhapsody music business one year ago today. iLike noted in the press release:

Users of iLike.com can now enjoy the enhanced music experience of full-length song playback, giving iLike’s enormous audience a taste of the popular Rhapsody Unlimited subscription service. Full-song streaming is now available for free to iLike users until a monthly threshold of 25 plays is reached, at which time users can choose to sign up for a Rhapsody account or enjoy 30 second song samples.

But the iLike-Rhapsody partnership hit a snag when Sony and Warner Music pulled out of the deal.

Is the CNET report an indication that iLike is getting more serious about starting its own direct-to-consumer retail play?

If so, it could become an interesting powerbroker in the online music retail business.