The European Commission announced today that it has launched “an in-depth investigation” of Apple’s proposed acquisition of Shazam.
“The way people listen to music has changed significantly in recent years, with more and more Europeans using music streaming services,” UE commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a prepared statement. “Our investigation aims to ensure that music fans will continue to enjoy attractive music streaming offers and won’t face less choice as a result of this proposed merger.”
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Apple announced in December 2017 that it intended to purchase Shazam for a rumored $400 million. Shazam is a mobile app and service that can use a mobile device’s microphone to identify playing music.
It’s unclear what the worry is here, as Apple doesn’t dominate digital music anymore and music identification capabilities are fairly common. But the EU complaint suggests that the Commission is concerned, in part, that Apple might use this acquisition to claw its way back to domination with its Apple Music service.
But the bigger worry—because, this is, after all, Europe—is that Apple could harm the competition.
“Apple [c]ould obtain access to commercially sensitive data about customers of its competitors for the provision of music streaming services in the European Economic Area,” the complaint notes. “Access to such data could allow Apple to directly target its competitors’ customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music. As a result, competing music streaming services could be put at a competitive disadvantage.”
Stooks
<p>Huh? Harm the competition for music identification apps??? Did not know these apps where in such demand and the market for them was critical too……..what exactly?</p><p><br></p><p>I read that Apple is going to shutter Shazam and use its tech in Siri/Apple Music. If so then no worries about music identification app domination. </p><p><br></p><p>Also in Europe the streaming music business is Spotify's to lose and by a big margin.</p>
chump2010
<p>I am amused at some of the outrage by people about American companies being hurt by EU rules. </p><p><br></p><p>I mean America is a true free market after all, except if your a Chinese company like Huwei and there is intense government pressure on carriers not to partner with them. </p><p><br></p><p>I have said it before, and I will say it again. If American companies don't like the EU rules, they don't have to sell here. If they want to sell here, then they must comply with the EU rules and the reverse is also true. </p><p><br></p><p>I think that consumer protections in the EU are much stronger than in the US. Much stronger. </p><p><br></p><p>In a way, Americans gain every time the EU passes a new privacy law, because these massive companies often change their global privacy rules to suit the strictest set of countries. In this case, to comply with EU privacy laws. </p><p><br></p><p>When the <strong style="color: rgb(106, 106, 106);">General Data Protection Regulation</strong><span style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84);"> (</span><strong style="color: rgb(106, 106, 106);">GDPR</strong><span style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84);">) comes into play, I will imagine a lot of American companies that sell in Europe, will also update their American privacy policy as well. </span></p><p><br></p><p>American consumers should be cheering the EU on. Instead I find people worried about how these massive corporations who evade tax, can possibly survive if they are not allowed to buy a relatively small company. Ridiculous. </p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon et al are not going out of business any time soon and certainly not because the EU has fined them or has forced them to change their practices in order to benefit the consumer.</p>