EU plans 'in-depth' investigation into Apple's acquisition of Shazam

Commission concerned that Apple could 'turn off' Shazam referrals to rivals

The European Commission is to investigate Apple's acquisition of music recognition app Shazam, struck in December 2017, over competition concerns.

Apple claimed that the $400 million deal for the London-based outfit was a "natural fit" with Apple Music and would help users discover new songs - which would naturally help Apple sell more music.

The European Commission, though, has opened what it describes as an "in-depth investigation" into the planned takeover because it is "concerned that the merger could reduce choice for users of music streaming services".

This comes after multiple EU countries in February requested that the European Commission assess the acquisition to determine whether it should be waived through under an EU competition laws.

In particular, the antitrust watchdog is concerned that, if the acquisition were to go ahead, "Apple would obtain access to commercially sensitive data about customers of its competitors for the provision of music streaming services in the EEA.

"Access to such data could allow Apple to directly target its competitors' customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music," the Commission claims.

It added that it will also investigate whether "Apple Music's competitors would be harmed if Apple, after the transaction, were to discontinue referrals from the Shazam app to them".

At present, for example, Spotify users can have songs identified on Shazam automatically added to a playlist in the streaming app.

Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: "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."

The Commission now has until 4 September to take a decision on the deal.