Apple's Shazam deal on hold as EU opens investigation
European Union antitrust regulators launched Monday an investigation into Apple’s deal for music recognition app Shazam, putting its bid on hold over concern that it would give iTunes an unfair advantage over rivals.
In December, Apple announced its plan to buy Shazam for a reported $400 million as the iPhone maker looked to compete with Spotify. The Shazam and Spotify apps identify songs by “listening” through a smartphone’s microphone and direct users to iTunes and other services where they can purchase music.
The European Commission said it will investigate whether Apple could hurt rival music services by referring Shazam users to iTunes and not others. Regulators also said they have concerns about Apple’s gaining access to data on Shazam users and the competing music services they use.
“Access to such data could allow Apple to directly target its competitors’ customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music,” the European Commission said in a statement. “As a result, competing music streaming services could be put at a competitive disadvantage.”
Apple hadn’t responded to a request for comment from FOX Business at the time of publication.
The European Commission’s deadline for a final decision is Sept. 4. A preliminary review of the deal was first launched in February.