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EU Opens Competition Probe Into Apple's Bid For Music App Shazam (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

EU antitrust regulators opened an investigation on Monday into Apple's bid for British music discovery app Shazam, concerned the deal might give the iPhone maker an unfair advantage in poaching users from its rivals. From a report: Apple announced the deal in December to help it better compete with industry leader Spotify. Shazam lets users identify songs by pointing a smartphone at the audio source. The European Commission said it was concerned about Apple's access to data on Shazam's users who use competing music streaming services in Europe.

21 comments

  1. google by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

    Shazam lets users identify songs by pointing a smartphone at the audio source.

    So, like Google's music search.

  2. Attempt stock manipulation?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Considering it will be years before any disposition will ever be public, this means nothing but PR, possibly aimed at their stock. Their earnings call is I believe scheduled for 5/1/2018 -- next week.

  3. The EU is Retarded by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They may be well-meaning; but they seem to be even more Regulation-Happy than the U.S. Congress, and that's saying something!

    So now, nobody can have an online service that might POSSIBLY inadvertently gather data that might POSSIBLY be also gathered by a "Competitor"?

    I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

    1. Re:The EU is Retarded by SeaFox · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

      You don't tell it what you subscribe to, it's a standalone app. But once it identifies a song it gives you links to music services to obtain the track. The fear here is that Apple will remove links to rival services and make Apple Music the only service you can easily follow through on.

    2. Re:The EU is Retarded by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 2

      It's actually fairly unlikely that Apple cares about Shazam as a user-facing app at all. It's really much more likely that they want the dataset, the backend software, and maybe the development team, as a hedge against their current reliance on Gracenote.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    3. Re:The EU is Retarded by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      They may be well-meaning; but they seem to be even more Regulation-Happy than the U.S. Congress, and that's saying something!

      So now, nobody can have an online service that might POSSIBLY inadvertently gather data that might POSSIBLY be also gathered by a "Competitor"?

      I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

      It is an investigation into possible negative outcomes of the merger.. So you are opposed to anyone ever doing anything to preemptively prevent market problems before they occur?

    4. Re:The EU is Retarded by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please, give us a break. Who the fuck inadvertently gathers data of any kind these days??

    5. Re:The EU is Retarded by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

      You don't tell it what you subscribe to, it's a standalone app. But once it identifies a song it gives you links to music services to obtain the track. The fear here is that Apple will remove links to rival services and make Apple Music the only service you can easily follow through on.

      But that's not what TFS said the EU was concerned about. And even if Apple did that, it certainly isn't a "monopoly"-type situation.

    6. Re:The EU is Retarded by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      They may be well-meaning; but they seem to be even more Regulation-Happy than the U.S. Congress, and that's saying something!

      So now, nobody can have an online service that might POSSIBLY inadvertently gather data that might POSSIBLY be also gathered by a "Competitor"?

      I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

      It is an investigation into possible negative outcomes of the merger.. So you are opposed to anyone ever doing anything to preemptively prevent market problems before they occur?

      Of course not. And to answer both you AND the snarky AC, no, it isn't ONLY when it's Apple; I just don't, in all honesty, see this acquisition as doing anything to give Apple an "Unfair Advantage" over other Streaming Services.

      Please explain with some RATIONAL argument, how I might not be seeing something here.

      And "Because... Apple" is NOT a Rational Argument. ;-)

    7. Re:The EU is Retarded by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      They may be well-meaning; but they seem to be even more Regulation-Happy than the U.S. Congress, and that's saying something!

      So now, nobody can have an online service that might POSSIBLY inadvertently gather data that might POSSIBLY be also gathered by a "Competitor"?

      I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

      It is an investigation into possible negative outcomes of the merger.. So you are opposed to anyone ever doing anything to preemptively prevent market problems before they occur?

      Of course not. And to answer both you AND the snarky AC, no, it isn't ONLY when it's Apple; I just don't, in all honesty, see this acquisition as doing anything to give Apple an "Unfair Advantage" over other Streaming Services.

      Please explain with some RATIONAL argument, how I might not be seeing something here.

      And "Because... Apple" is NOT a Rational Argument. ;-)

      What you are not seeing is what haven't been investigated yet.

    8. Re:The EU is Retarded by mjwx · · Score: 1

      They may be well-meaning; but they seem to be even more Regulation-Happy than the U.S. Congress, and that's saying something!

      So now, nobody can have an online service that might POSSIBLY inadvertently gather data that might POSSIBLY be also gathered by a "Competitor"?

      I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

      It is an investigation into possible negative outcomes of the merger.. So you are opposed to anyone ever doing anything to preemptively prevent market problems before they occur?

      No it's just that the EU is doing it and they want to have an Anti-EU rant.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    9. Re:The EU is Retarded by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Please, give us a break. Who the fuck inadvertently gathers data of any kind these days??

      No. No "Breaks" to someone to COWARDLY to expose their Karma.

      IMHO, 99.99999% of ALL AC Posts are there SOLELY to bash someone from a Karmically-Protected shelter. Nothing more; nothing less.

      So, log in and fight like a REAL person; or STFU and GTFO, COWARD!!!

    10. Re:The EU is Retarded by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 0

      They may be well-meaning; but they seem to be even more Regulation-Happy than the U.S. Congress, and that's saying something!

      So now, nobody can have an online service that might POSSIBLY inadvertently gather data that might POSSIBLY be also gathered by a "Competitor"?

      I don't know how Shazam works; but do you have to tell it what Streaming Music Service you might (or might not) belong to to use it? If not, then this is a horseshit suggestion.

      It is an investigation into possible negative outcomes of the merger.. So you are opposed to anyone ever doing anything to preemptively prevent market problems before they occur?

      Of course not. And to answer both you AND the snarky AC, no, it isn't ONLY when it's Apple; I just don't, in all honesty, see this acquisition as doing anything to give Apple an "Unfair Advantage" over other Streaming Services.

      Please explain with some RATIONAL argument, how I might not be seeing something here.

      And "Because... Apple" is NOT a Rational Argument. ;-)

      What you are not seeing is what haven't been investigated yet.

      You mean, what hasn't HAPPENED yet. You can't "Investigate" that which is, itself, nothing but pure SPECULATION.

      That's as bad (or actually worse; because the EU's SPECULATION has the Force and Effect of LAW) as the Slashtards who IMMEDIATELY Jump to the MOST NEFARIOUS possible motives for EVERY FUCKING THING that Apple says or does; without so much as a SCINTILLA of EVIDENCE to back-up their Tinfoil-Hat FANTASIES.

      EXACTLY the same.

      Now, please show me how that DOESN'T happen, and that I'M the one being Paranoid.

      I'll wait...

    11. Re:The EU is Retarded by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      Maybe you dont understand the context. We are talking about mergers. You cant undo the mergers, you can only prevent them if they are potentially harmful.

    12. Re:The EU is Retarded by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      Maybe you dont understand the context. We are talking about mergers. You cant undo the mergers, you can only prevent them if they are potentially harmful.

      I understand the concept completely.

      But since Apple STiLL wouldn't have anywhere CLOSE to a "Monopoly" in this regard, why can't people just be trusted to "Vote with their feet", if they don't like using Shazam under Apple's control.

      This isn't like "Well, the biggest two Wireless Carriers are going to Merge, so there will be ONE megacorp, and a couple of piddly-little "competitors" that won't stand a chance. This is simply one big Megacorp buying up a Music IDENTIFICATION Service, FFS!

  4. Assume the worst, because Apple. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    It's not at all like Apple could be getting antsy about Gracenote/CDDB, which in the last decade has been shuffled around various owners as part of three different acquisitions... the same Gracenote/CDDB on which Apple Music, iTunes Match, and Genius all, rely. It's not at all like Apple has made a point of securing alternate vendors (And in this space, it's Gracenote, Shazam, and pretty much nobody else. So if Gracenote is being worrisome, OBVIOUSLY you look to Shazam.) in similar situations in the past.

    Nope. No way is there legitimate and non-abusive business logic here. It's Apple being evil. Zero doubt, because it's Apple.

  5. Anti-Americanism as well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If this were a French or German company, this would have long since sailed past the muckety-mucks and been approved. However, xenophobia and blaming the Yanks for everything keeps the EU judges and politicians in office.

  6. GMO example by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    EU was anti-GMO until Bayer got into the business.