Apple braced for European scrutiny over Shazam deal
Apple is bracing itself for a probe from the European Commission into its planned $400m purchase of Shazam, the UK-based music discovery app.
Apple braced for European scrutiny over Shazam deal
Regulators are alarmed at the prospect of Apple flexing its muscle by encouraging Shazam users to migrate to its own music streaming service in the event that its takeover proceeds.
Apple music currently languishes a distant second to market leader Spotify with around half as many paid subscribers, but it is catching up fast and could be given a further boost with Shazam as part of its portfolio.
Shazam specialises in enabling users to identify songs and their artists via a smartphone app, which already connects to iTunes to enable people to purchase and download songs directly and is a significant source of referrals to rival providers.
The EC now have 90 working days of deliberation time before they must decide whether to give the takeover their blessing or block it on competition grounds.
The commission has already shown its mettle by hitting Google with a €2.4bn antitrust fine following a seven year investigation.
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Shazam Entertainment
Shazam Entertainment Ltd. is a British app development company that created an app that can identify music, movies, advertising, and television shows, based on a...
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