UK ‘love affair’ with music streaming delivers for Britons, says antitrust watchdog

The UK’s “love affair” with music was said to be the reason the agency opened the probe earlier this year, investigating whether the sector was working for British audiences. The sweeping review looked at the roles played by both record labels and music streaming services including Spotify and those provided by Amazon.com Inc, Apple and Alphabet Inc. — AFP Relaxnews

The music streaming market dominated by a handful of major players is giving consumers a fair shake, the UK’s antitrust watchdog said in a much anticipated report, as it pulled back from a deeper investigation into the likes of Spotify Technology SA and Apple Inc.

“The concentrated” nature of the market dominated by just a handful of players is not “currently causing consumers harm”, and “labels nor streaming services appear to be making sustained excess profits”, the Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement on July 26.