The EU is gearing up to fine Apple €500m for favouring its own music streaming service over competitors, the Financial Times (FT) has reported.

Citing five people with knowledge of the ongoing investigation, the FT said the fine is likely to be announced next month.

It follows a lengthy investigation over concerns that it was leveraging its iOS operating system to favour Apple Music over alternatives such as Spotify and YouTube Music. The probe is looking into whether Apple blocked the rival firms from informing iOS users that subscriptions would be cheaper if accessed from outside the App Store.

If paid for via an app downloaded through the store, Apple takes 30% of all transactions for in-app purchases and 15% or 30% for subscriptions depending on various factors. This has forced many firms to raise subscription prices for users purchasing through the app itself while offering cheaper plans on their own sites.

The probe was originally launched in 2019, after Spotify complained about the...