Apple Issues an Official Response to Spotify’s Unfair Competition Allegations
Last updated July 8, 2021
- Apple has responded to Spotify’s recent accusations of anti-competition practices via an official statement.
- Spotify had raised a number of concerns surrounding Apple’s monetization practices, restricting competition and bias towards Apple Music.
- The Cupertino-based tech giant has called out Spotify for misrepresenting facts and hurting the music industry.
Spotify has decided to file an official complaint with the European Commission earlier this week, accusing Apple of anti-competitive practices. Now, Apple has responded to Spotify’s complaints but has avoided talking about Apple Music as well as the recent complaint.
According to Apple, Spotify wants to take advantage of being a revenue-generating app while not paying dues. According to the tech giant, there are many ad-supported apps that make money but do not pay anything to Apple. If Spotify is to continue generating revenue from the App Store, it needs to play by Apple’s rules.
Apple has also accused Spotify of misrepresenting facts to the public. The company revealed that Spotify is charged a 30% fee on subscriptions only for the first year, while the fee for subscriptions that last longer than one year is set at 15%. Moreover, Spotify users who are using the free version of the service do not contribute to Apple’s revenue from the App Store.
While Apple has called out Spotify for misrepresenting facts, the tech giant has failed to address some points as well. The company has not responded about the official complaint filed with the European Commission. It has also not talked about its own product, Apple Music. The company has also not talked about how it chooses apps that are allowed to collect revenue from third-party payment services instead of iTunes.
Spotify has also been accused of 'squeezing' artists, musicians, and songwriters. Recently, a suit was filed against music creators by the streaming company after it was directed by the US Copyright Royalty Board to increase royalty payments. All things considered, Apple has accused the popular music streaming service of damaging the music industry.
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