Unlike in the United States, Europe takes company acquisitions very seriously. Not to say that Congress doesn't look into large mergers, but acquisitions like AT&T buying Time Warner, or CVS Health purchasing Aetna, may not have gone down across the pond. Currently, Apple is attempting to acquire Shazam, the program that identifies music for users who would like to know what song they are listening to.
According to CNBC, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager announced an investigation into the deal, stating, "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." Shazam is based out of the UK.
European regulators are worried about Apple's access to Shazam's data. "Access to such data could allow Apple to directly target its competitors' customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music. As a result, competing music streaming services could be put at a competitive disadvantage," regulators stated. Imagine trying to identify a song through Shazam from a device that is not made by Apple, only to be told that in order to listen to the song, download the song, or even identify the song, users must first download Apple Music? That is the underlying fear. The European Commission has until September to conclude the investigation.
