Apple Music faces scrutiny from the FTC
It's been reported even before Apple launched its Music streaming service that the company's facing antitrust probes in the US. Now, Reuters says the FTC has begun looking into Cupertino's "treatment of rival streaming music apps" to make sure it's not violating any antitrust law. See, iTunes also offers those competitor apps for download, and Apple gets a 30 percent cut per subscription paid through the program. That forces the companies to choose between charging extra on top of their $9.99 per month service (making the total $12.99) and accepting the loss to match Apple Music's pricing.
In addition, the FTC's reportedly looking into the App Store's numerous restrictions, as well. These include prohibiting companies from mentioning that their apps are also available on other platforms and from pointing customers to their websites to purchase goods and services. That's the reason why Spotify recently decided to send an email blast to subscribers with instructions on how to sign up directly on its website instead of paying $3 more through iTunes. To be clear, though, this isn't an official investigation yet -- the FTC has merely been examining if it has to launch one and meeting with concerned parties, such as the reps of Apple Music's rivals.
