As Apple prepares to launch Apple Music in 100 countries by June 30, the company is now being investigated by the attorneys general of Connecticut and New York to determine if the tech giant violated antitrust laws.
New York attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman and Connecticut's George Jepsen have formed a formal investigation on whether Apple had pressured music companies and labels to back up or withdraw support for popular services offered by Spotify, according to the New York Times.
Apple's new music streaming app wants to tap the market for "freemium" music services now led by Spotify. A "Freemium" service typically starts for free, but after a certain amount of time, subscription rates would be offered and if users do not wish to avail, advertisements would be inserted in between songs.
On the other hand, Apple does offer a free version, and a three-month free trial period is an option. Artists and record labels would also be allowed to upload music and other forms of media content, including video to be made available via Connect - a promotional part of the music service, according to TIME.
This is not the first time that Apple got tangled up in a legal dispute questioning if it violated antitrust laws, which may have prompted the attorneys general to pre-emptively look into the terms of Apple Music before it is made available to consumers by the end of this month.
In 2013, Apple was found guilty of an e-book price fixing case by conniving with book publishers to raise e-book prices above Amazon's standard digital book pricing at $9.99, the New York Times reported.
