YouTube Music found itself in a spot of regulatory bother in South Korea last year, with regulator the FTC investigating whether the service’s bundle with YouTube Premium subscriptions had an unfair impact on local DSPs.
In April, a plan emerged to undo that bundle in an effort to satisfy the regulator. It seems to have worked. The Chosun Daily reported that the FTC has initiated ‘consent decree proceedings’ to close its antitrust investigation without any fines.
“A consent decree enables us to implement corrective measures more quickly, without the need for protracted legal battles,” said the FTC’s Kim Moon-sik.
The report also suggested that Google is launching a $22m fund “to support the local music industry and artists” as part of its negotiated resolution.
YouTube Music had just over 9.5 million monthly active users in South Korea in April according to local reports – 3.1 million ahead of closest rival Melon.
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