Report: EU to approve Apple’s Shazam buy-out

Apple is set to win unconditional European Commission (EU) antitrust approval for its planned acquisition of British music discovery app Shazam.

The decision is not expected until September 18

But news agency Reuters has made the claim based on comments from two people familiar with the inquiry.

The EU began an investigation in April, four months after Apple announced its decision to buy the device company which identifies songs (or movies or TV shows) from a snippet via a smartphone pointed at an audio source.

When the song is identified, the user has the further option of listening to it on a streaming service.

The EU’s worry was that Shazam is the sort of cool device which would give Apple the edge if it integrates the UK company’s technology.

Apple’s time-conscious users would then no longer have to leap between two apps.

In April when the EU announced the inquiry, it stated: “’In addition, while at this stage the Commission does not consider Shazam as a key entry point for music streaming services, it will also further investigate whether Apple Music’s competitors would be harmed if Apple, after the transaction, were to discontinue referrals from the Shazam app to them.

In this instance, the most to lose would be Switzerland-based Spotify that would have the most to lose.

In the US Apple Music has overtaken Spotify in terms of subscription figures and obviously wants to extend the ascendancy over the rest of the world.

But according to Reuters’ sources, the EU does not feel that Spotify is in such a vulnerable state as globally its 83 million subscribers is double that of Apple Music’s.

So much so that it’s not even demanding any concessions from the American titan.

Apple has refused to divulge the value of the Shazam buy-out.

But some media sources put it at $400 million, which is far below the $1 billion that Shazam has been valued at.

However, Shazam still has revenue issues: it only generated $54 million for 2016.