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European Regulators Concerned Apple's Proposed Shazam Acquisition Could Hurt Competitors Like Spotify

Monday April 23, 2018 8:51 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The European Commission today announced it has opened an in-depth investigation into Apple's proposed acquisition of Shazam.


The regulators are concerned that the merger could reduce choice for users of streaming music services in Europe. In particular, they believe that Apple could gain access to sensitive data that could allow Apple to directly target its competitors' customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music.

While the European Commission did not name any specific services, Apple Music's biggest rival in Europe is Spotify, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Other competitors include Deezer, Tidal, and Google Play Music.

European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager:
The way people listen to music has changed significantly in recent years, with more and more Europeans using music streaming services. 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.
In addition, the European Commission said it will investigate whether Apple Music's competitors would be harmed if Apple were to discontinue referrals from the Shazam app to them following the acquisition. Shazam's app currently integrates with multiple services, including Spotify and Deezer.

The regulators have set a September 4, 2018 deadline to reach a decision, delaying an Apple-Shazam merger for at least 90 days.

Apple announced its plans to acquire Shazam in December, describing the two companies as a "natural fit" with "exciting plans" ahead. In February, the European Commission received requests from Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain, and Sweden to assess the deal under European merger law.

Shazam is a popular service that can identify the name and lyrics of songs, music videos, TV shows, and more. It has apps across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, iMessage, and Mac, while the service has been built into Siri since iOS 8.

Tags: European Commission, Shazam
[ 89 comments ]

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ideal.dreams
20 months ago

So, Apple will have to promise to continue to allow Shazam to list other streaming services when it makes referrals. They'll probably agree to that. Now, if they could just force Apple to allow the Homepod to use other services.


They should have zero control over that. Apple manufactures and sells its Homepod and has a right to limit its streaming services to Apple Music only.
Rating: 24 Votes
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rorschach
20 months ago

allow Apple to directly target its competitors' customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music.


The horror! A company trying to convince users of a competing product to switch to its own! We cannot allow that!
Rating: 19 Votes
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Jakexb
20 months ago

So, Apple will have to promise to continue to allow Shazam to list other streaming services when it makes referrals. They'll probably agree to that. Now, if they could just force Apple to allow the Homepod to use other services.


Don’t understand how anyone is forcing Apple to do anything. If Spotify wants to make a Spotify speaker, are they going to be forced to support Apple Music?
Rating: 18 Votes
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jayducharme
20 months ago
I don't understand how this is a problem. Shazam isn't a streaming service; it simply identifies songs. I guess Apple could engineer it so that it displayed songs only on Apple Music and tried to steer users to buy it if they don't already have Apple Music. But I'm sure in that case another app would come along to fill in the gaps.
Rating: 15 Votes
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jbc25
20 months ago
It almost sounds as though they don't actually understand what Shazam is. Like they're assuming it's another music streaming service.
Rating: 13 Votes
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MacBebe
20 months ago

I don't understand how this is a problem. Shazam isn't a streaming service; it simply identifies songs. I guess Apple could engineer it so that it displayed songs only on Apple Music and tried to steer users to buy it if they don't already have Apple Music. But I'm sure in that case another app would come along to fill in the gaps.


Exactly.

It is up to the customers who they pick as their streaming service. This complain doesn't make sense.
Rating: 11 Votes
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Kaibelf
20 months ago

In particular, they believe that Apple could gain access to sensitive data that could allow Apple to directly target its competitors' customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music.


The EU sure seems to have a problem with companies trying not to waste their customers' time. I'm sure all of this has NOTHING to do with Spotify being an EU based company. :rolleyes:
Rating: 8 Votes
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69Mustang
20 months ago

I don't understand how this is a problem. Shazam isn't a streaming service; it simply identifies songs. I guess Apple could engineer it so that it displayed songs only on Apple Music and tried to steer users to buy it if they don't already have Apple Music. But I'm sure in that case another app would come along to fill in the gaps.

Shazam is hooked into the backend of different companies. This is less about streaming and more about the data that Shazam has... data that belongs to some of Apple's competitors.

It is up to the customers who they pick as their streaming service. This complain doesn't make sense.

You're missing the point. This isn't about choosing a streaming service. This is about safeguarding against the possibility of Apple stifling competition by removing access to "backend" Shazam which is used by multiple services. It's also about Apple not being able to analyze competitors data that Shazam has accrued over the years. Further, if Shazam's hooks into other companies were allowed to remain, would Apple be allowed to continue to analyze that data?
Rating: 8 Votes
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big-ted
20 months ago

The EU sure seems to have a problem with companies trying not to waste their customers' time. I'm sure all of this has NOTHING to do with Spotify being an EU based company. :rolleyes:

The EU rightly does this all the time, and it is about protecting their citizens from US companies
Rating: 6 Votes
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tech3475
20 months ago

Now, if they could just force Apple to allow the Homepod to use other services.


The sales figures may do that for them.
Rating: 6 Votes

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