Apple-Shazam deal cleared by EU in boost for Apple Music, Siri

Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California on Monday, June 4, 2018.

Apple is free to complete its purchase of music identification app Shazam, EU regulators said Thursday, in a boost for Apple’s Music and Siri segments. Apple has not said how much it will buy Shazam for.

“Data is key in the digital economy. We must therefore carefully review transactions which lead to the acquisition of important sets of data, including potentially commercially sensitive ones, to ensure they do not restrict competition,” EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. “After thoroughly analyzing Shazam’s user and music data, we found that their acquisition by Apple would not reduce competition in the digital music streaming market.”

The Commission opened a full-scale investigation into the deal in April, in line with the agency’s growing concerns of antitrust action among American tech companies. In July the commission fined Google $5 billion over antitrust violations in its Android business.

Shazam identifies music with just a short sample of the audio, and is already utilized in Apple’s Siri virtual assistant. Completing the purchase and expanding the software is likely to help Apple compete with rival music service Spotify. One of Apple’s newer focuses is to increase revenue in its services segment, which includes digital offerings like iCloud storage, apps and TV shows and movies.