EU Inquiry Finds No Evidence Apple Colluded With Record Labels to End Freemium Music

The European Commission has failed to find evidence that Apple conspired with record labels to put a stop to free music streaming services, reports Re/code, citing sources with knowledge of the investigation.

The European Commission spoke with multiple digital music services and record labels, but was not able to find evidence of illegal activity, putting an end to the probe. Investigators' "files will remain open," however, as Spotify continues with licensing talks with major labels.

applemusic
European regulators began scrutinizing Apple's discussions with record labels in April, over concerns Apple would use its influence to persuade music companies to put an end to free ad-supported music services such as Spotify. Apple Music, unlike Spotify, does not offer a free listening tier.

Rumors later suggested Apple was indeed leveraging its power in the music industry to push record labels to stop offering licensing options for freemium music tiers, leading to investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, both of which are ongoing.

According to Re/code's sources, while the European Commission has found no evidence of collusion between Apple and record labels, it has also launched a separate investigation into Apple's App Store policies concerning competing music services.

Separately, the EU has asked Spotify and other music streaming services for information pertaining to Apple's mobile App Store, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Regulators are seeking information on the restrictions Apple places on apps offered through the store.

Apple's App Store policies are also currently being looked at by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, due to the 30 percent fee the company collects on app and subscription revenue. The FTC is concerned that Apple's fee and its policies, such as a ban on links to outside stores, are illegal under antitrust law.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
Global Close Your Rings Day Pin

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

White House Hits Back at Apple's Massive EU Fine

Thursday April 24, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...
ipad air magic keyboard feature

iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard

Thursday April 24, 2025 12:09 pm PDT by
When an iPad running iPadOS 19 is connected to a Magic Keyboard, a macOS-like menu bar will appear on the screen, according to the leaker Majin Bu. This change would further blur the lines between the iPad and the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS," with unspecified improvements to productivity, multitasking, and app window management,...

Top Rated Comments

jdillings Avatar
127 months ago
Nice try Spotify at spreading these false rumors
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Traverse Avatar
127 months ago
I will admit, the lack of a free tier is a bummer. I only use streaming services a few hours a week for discovery. Certainly not enough to pay $120 a year for. At least iTunes Radio is still free.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Keirasplace Avatar
127 months ago
Spotify have been lobbying hard, hoping a repeat of the ebook case. The thing is, no amount of government involvement will be able to stop the growth Apple Music will gain at their expense. Although spotify won't say which platform most of their paying users are on, it's easy for anyone to tell. You simply have to compare the two main platforms when it comes to paid apps. iOS holds a 70/30 split for paid apps vs android for paid apps. With that in mind, one can more or less conclude most of spotify paying customers are for the most part, Apple customers.

If that is the case, then spotify is in a much different position then I though just a few months ago. If we learned anything from the Apple maps fiasco is that, as bad as that launch was, it was bad. Some 2+ years later, over 75% of iOS users are using Apple maps over the much better Google provided maps apps. This is happening for one simple reason, "power of the default." If this can happen to a much better product (Google maps), I can confidently say Apple will be able to convert a lot of spotify paying users on their platform.

With competition like this from Apple and all the bad music label contracts, I don't see how spotify can ever hope to be profitable. Unless of course a facebook or someone else with deep pocket come to the rescue.
Google map is in fact, not that much better; that's why default and tight inegration is important. If you're close enough, people are lazy and won't go the extra mile to find slightly better on some aspects while having worse overall integration with the rest of the platform. Google can't offer tight integration and convenience, so they lose.

If Apple is able to put enough resource into spotlight that it becomes in fact the search engine for IOS, then Google will be in deep trouble.

In the case of Apple, after IOS 9.0 comes out and street level mapping comes out, Apple map and Google will be essentially on par with Google having a slight advantage in POI because of their search integration. That's far from enough to get most IOS user to use Google Map.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sleaka J Avatar
127 months ago
I will admit, the lack of a free tier is a bummer. I only use streaming services a few hours a week for discovery. Certainly not enough to pay $120 a year for. At least iTunes Radio is still free.
I don't listen to enough music to justify paying for a subscription service either (much less than a few hours a week). I have plenty of music on my phone and that does it for me.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
toukale Avatar
127 months ago
Spotify have been lobbying hard, hoping a repeat of the ebook case. The thing is, no amount of government involvement will be able to stop the growth Apple Music will gain at their expense. Although spotify won't say which platform most of their paying users are on, it's easy for anyone to tell. You simply have to compare the two main platforms when it comes to paid apps. iOS holds a 70/30 split for paid apps vs android for paid apps. With that in mind, one can more or less conclude most of spotify paying customers are for the most part, Apple customers.

If that is the case, then spotify is in a much different position then I though just a few months ago. If we learned anything from the Apple maps fiasco is that, as bad as that launch was, it was bad. Some 2+ years later, over 75% of iOS users are using Apple maps over the much better Google provided maps apps. This is happening for one simple reason, "power of the default." If this can happen to a much better product (Google maps), I can confidently say Apple will be able to convert a lot of spotify paying users on their platform.

With competition like this from Apple and all the bad music label contracts, I don't see how spotify can ever hope to be profitable. Unless of course a facebook or someone else with deep pocket come to the rescue.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lk400 Avatar
127 months ago
Spotify have been lobbying hard, hoping a repeat of the ebook case. The thing is, no amount of government involvement will be able to stop the growth Apple Music will gain at their expense. Although spotify won't say which platform most of their paying users are on, it's easy for anyone to tell. You simply have to compare the two main platforms when it comes to paid apps. iOS holds a 70/30 split for paid apps vs android for paid apps. With that in mind, one can more or less conclude most of spotify paying customers are for the most part, Apple customers.

If that is the case, then spotify is in a much different position then I though just a few months ago. If we learned anything from the Apple maps fiasco is that, as bad as that launch was, it was bad. Some 2+ years later, over 75% of iOS users are using Apple maps over the much better Google provided maps apps. This is happening for one simple reason, "power of the default." If this can happen to a much better product (Google maps), I can confidently say Apple will be able to convert a lot of spotify paying users on their platform.

With competition like this from Apple and all the bad music label contracts, I don't see how spotify can ever hope to be profitable. Unless of course a facebook or someone else with deep pocket come to the rescue.
I dont know whether Apple maps issue is as simple as you say. Apple maps from my view is a much better program, smoother, easier to use, better looking. However in my country its core mapping (basically place names and points of interest) is not as good as Google, and there is no public transport data in Apple (in Japan, that's a huge issue as almost everyone uses trains to get around). If the core mapping was good enough in Apple, I would abandon google maps instantly as Apple maps is a better program. So I'm sure the people using Apple maps aren't just doing it because of the power of default. Maybe it works for them.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)