applemusiciphoneGovernment officials in New York and Connecticut are investigating the deals Apple and major record companies established for Apple Music to determine whether there were any antitrust violations, reports The New York Times. Eric T. Schneiderman and George Jepsen, attorneys general in the two states, are suspicious Apple tried to convince record labels to abandon free, ad-supported music services like those offered by Spotify and YouTube.

The attorneys general wanted to know whether Apple pressured the music labels -- or whether the labels conspired with Apple and one another -- to withdraw support for popular "freemium" services offered by companies like Spotify in favor of Apple's paid music subscriptions.

Spotify offers a freemium ad-supported music tier that lets listeners access music at no cost, provided they also listen to ads. Apple Music does not include a free tier for on-demand listening like Spotify, instead requiring all users to pay $9.99 per month for an individual plan or $14.99 per month for a family plan. Apple does, however, offer a separate radio service that can be accessed for free.

There have been rumors suggesting Apple asked record labels to discontinue allowing services like Spotify to offer music at no cost, which has led to scrutiny from the European Commission, the United States Department of Justice, and the United States Federal Trade Commission. Apple Music would, of course, be a much more appealing option should other services not be able to offer music for free, but it remains unclear whether Apple executives did indeed push labels to change their deals.

According to The New York Times, Universal Music Group is cooperating with the investigation and has told the attorneys general via letter that it has no agreements with Apple or other record labels that "impede the availability of free or ad-supported music streaming services" and it has no intention to enter any such agreements. UMG has also provided MacRumors with the following statement:

"UMG shares the Attorneys General's commitment to a robust and competitive market for music streaming services in the mutual best interest of consumers, artists, services and content companies alike – and we have a long track record to that effect. We are pleased to have provided the Attorneys General information demonstrating that conduct. It is our understanding that, given these representations, the Attorneys General have no present intention to make further inquiries of UMG in this regard."

In a statement, Connecticut attorney general George Jepsen said he was satisfied with the response he received from UMG. "We will continue to monitor that market to ensure that consumers and competition are protected," he said. Schneiderman's office made a similar statement, saying "It’s important to ensure that the market continues to develop free from collusion and other anticompetitive practices."

Jepsen and Schneiderman have been involved in Apple's affairs several times in the past. Jepsen led a lawsuit against Apple during the e-book price fixing scandal and has questioned Apple about Apple Watch privacy concerns. Schneiderman has been involved with smartphone anti-theft measures and was one of the main proponents of a "kill switch" for smartphones.

Apple Music debuted yesterday at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. It will launch to the public on June 30 alongside iOS 8.4.

Update 6:42 PM PT: This article has been updated to include an official statement from Universal Music Group.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

horsebattery Avatar
128 months ago
Heeere we go. Evil jerks. Get a real job losers. I can't believe I'm forced to pay one of these moron governments at gunpoint, so they can pull crap like this.
Leave it to the justice department to find a cloud in even the shiniest of silver linings.
Your gov't at work. Keep voting these clowns in office and they will totally control your existence.
Really? Really? Good grief people, why do you think the government exists? Did you all get hit with the stupid stick and forget what happened in the past?

There are so many players in this music space. This doesn't make sense. Are they going to investigate Taylor Swift too? She pulled her music from Spotify. She thinks artists should be compensated better for their art/product. She and Apple must be conspiring!
This is comparing apples to unicorn feces. When Taylor Swift can somehow gain enough momentum to potentially violate anti-trust laws, then you have a valid complaint.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Z400Racer37 Avatar
128 months ago
Heeere we go. Evil jerks. Get a real job losers. I can't believe I'm forced to pay one of these moron governments at gunpoint, so they can pull crap like this.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nostaws Avatar
128 months ago
There are so many players in this music space. This doesn't make sense. Are they going to investigate Taylor Swift too? She pulled her music from Spotify. She thinks artists should be compensated better for their art/product. She and Apple must be conspiring!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dargoth Avatar
128 months ago
Really? Really? Good grief people, why do you think the government exists? Did you all get hit with the stupid stick and forget what happened in the past?
The government exists to keep people safe, true. The problem is, they try to do more than they are qualified to do these days. They regulate markets they know nothing about, and they end up creating an environment that only favors big business, and leaves the smaller ones without a chance at competition. How could you be for this?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dargoth Avatar
128 months ago
Leave it to the justice department to find a cloud in even the shiniest of silver linings.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mackinjosh Avatar
128 months ago
Holy crap at the fanboys taking issue with this as if Apple doesn't have a history of shady behavior. Stop crying, super fans, if Apple is innocent, they'll be fine.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...