Neil Hughes
With Apple expected to rebrand and relaunch its acquired Beats Music service this summer, the company has already come under the watchful eye of the European Union, which has begun probing the company's plans even before the product is made official.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported on Thursday that "several labels and digital music companies" were contacted with questionnaires regarding dealings with Apple. Those questions were reportedly sent by the European Commission, which is the legislative arm of the E.U.
The commission is apparently interested in the agreements labels have allegedly been making with Apple in recent weeks and months, in anticipation of a new streaming service from the company. The report indicated that Apple has planned the rebranded Beats Music launch for this summer, aligning with earlier rumors.
According to the Times, questionnaires from the commission are often triggered by a formal complaint. As such, it's possible that the labels or one of Apple's competitors view the terms of the deals being struck by the iTunes company as potentially unfair.
Apple already competes against the likes of market leader Spotify and others with Beats Music, which it acquired as part of a $3 billion deal last May. But Apple is apparently in the process of rebranding and redesigning that software, which could bring it more in line with the rest of the company's iTunes services.
As part of those negotiations, Apple was said to have sought a lower monthly fee than Beats Music's current $10 price tag. But last month it was reported that Apple backed off that strategy, and its new streaming service is expected to keep the same price and match that of Spotify.
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
28 Comments
Spotify costs $19 a month in the UK! You could buy twenty to thirty albums a year for that! I guess these streaming services are for the young'uns, who can't get enough music.
The EU seems to be getting more aggressive at digging into US companies business. They'll quite likely end up filing charges against Google at some point (perhaps soon) and IMO Apple too eventually, and both over competitive practices. Being the best at what you do appears to be problematic for some EU authorities. EDIT: " the European Commission is considering launching an antitrust investigation... The commission, which also has contacted Apple’s music-streaming rivals, is said to be concerned that the company will use its size, relationships and influence to persuade labels to abandon free, ad-supported services such as Spotify, which depend on licenses with music companies for their catalogues."
The sooner the UK tells Brussels where to shove it the better for Brits IMHO.
Well the difference between EU and the way Congress/Senate works here is that they are working mostly for the people and not for big money. There wouldn't have been a privacy debate if it weren't for EU. Google, Microsoft, FB would be owning your information. I for one think it is great that someone is standing up against all types of international corporations and make sure that the consumer isn't screwed.
[quote name="chelin" url="/t/185552/eu-scrutinizing-record-labels-over-potential-deals-with-apple-streaming-music-service#post_2702833"]Well the difference between EU and the way Congress/Senate works here is that they are working mostly for the people and not for big money. There wouldn't have been a privacy debate if it weren't for EU. Google, Microsoft, FB would be owning your information. I for one think it is great that someone is standing up against all types of international corporations and make sure that the consumer isn't screwed.[/quote] Thanks for the laughs! This is about protectionism and taxes, not fairness or promoting competition or 'looking out for consumers'.