Apple expected to get full EU approval for takeover of music discovery service Shazam
When it decides later this month, the European Union will likely give Apple's Shazam buyout unconditional approval, a report claimed on Wednesday.
Antitrust regulators found no major issues, according to two sources for Reuters. The European Commission launched an investigation of the deal in April, concerned that Apple might score an unfair advantage and/or cut off the Shazam app's links to services beyond Apple Music and iTunes. Currently the iOS client also supports Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube.
The Commission's case was originally championed by a group of several E.U. members, such as Austria, France, Spain, and Sweden.
Shazam started life in the UK in 1999 as a product called 2580, named after the number users had to dial to reach the service via text. Since its debut on the iOS App Store, and subsequently Mac App Store, Shazam has evolved into a comprehensive audio fingerprinting service that allows users to identify songs, movies, TV shows and other media by capturing short audio segments.
Currently, Shazam features integration with a number of music services, including iTunes and Apple Music. While iTunes hooks feature simple track purchasing options, Apple Music subscribers can use Shazam to quickly add identified songs and to a customized playlist.
The service is easily the most popular of its kind, and skeptics of the takeover have worried that it could end usefulness for people who aren't fully invested in the Apple ecosystem. Shazam is already integrated into Siri.
It's not yet clear how Apple plans to expand Shazam's technology, or even what it paid for the firm. One estimate put the value as high as $400 million, though that would be below a $1 billion valuation.
Antitrust regulators found no major issues, according to two sources for Reuters. The European Commission launched an investigation of the deal in April, concerned that Apple might score an unfair advantage and/or cut off the Shazam app's links to services beyond Apple Music and iTunes. Currently the iOS client also supports Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube.
The Commission's case was originally championed by a group of several E.U. members, such as Austria, France, Spain, and Sweden.
Shazam started life in the UK in 1999 as a product called 2580, named after the number users had to dial to reach the service via text. Since its debut on the iOS App Store, and subsequently Mac App Store, Shazam has evolved into a comprehensive audio fingerprinting service that allows users to identify songs, movies, TV shows and other media by capturing short audio segments.
Currently, Shazam features integration with a number of music services, including iTunes and Apple Music. While iTunes hooks feature simple track purchasing options, Apple Music subscribers can use Shazam to quickly add identified songs and to a customized playlist.
The service is easily the most popular of its kind, and skeptics of the takeover have worried that it could end usefulness for people who aren't fully invested in the Apple ecosystem. Shazam is already integrated into Siri.
It's not yet clear how Apple plans to expand Shazam's technology, or even what it paid for the firm. One estimate put the value as high as $400 million, though that would be below a $1 billion valuation.
Comments
No. That's not why they "happen". An investigation happens to make sure that there's an alternative service available, so that users (and competitors) aren't "left out in the cold". In this instance, dropping support for Google/Android could not be considered anti-competitive, as Google has a similar service they offer. Apple buys a lot of tech companies and makes them Apple-only all the time. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Apple made this a service that was only available on their platforms (that 3rd party developers could tap into). The EU is putting up a stink because Shazam happens to be an extremely popular EU-based service.
That's just silly. Apple Music is available on Android isn't it?
Somehow surprised you didn't use the word "Profit" on this comment