On Apple’s big music launch day, court rules tech giant conspired to fix e-book prices

Apple Inc. said Tuesday that it was assessing its next steps, after a U.S. court upheld a trial judge’s decision concluding that the iPad maker conspired with five publishers to increase e-book prices. In a statement issued after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York handed down its 2-1 decision, the company maintained that it did not conspire to fix e-book prices, as the U.S. Justice Department contends.

While we want to put this behind us, the case is about principles and values. We know we did nothing wrong, back in 2010 and are assessing next steps.

Apple statement

The ruling came on the day Apple launched Apple Music, a streaming service aimed at taking on well-established services like Spotify. Apple Music starts in the unusual position for the tech giant of being on the back foot, given that Spotify leads the fast-growing market for streaming, that is, offering unlimited music on demand. The service is betting big on celebrity names to draw attention and scored a coup when pop superstar Taylor Swift agreed, after a heated dispute, to stream her blockbuster album “1989” only on Apple Music.

Business Apple books