Spotify Complains Apple Against Unequal, Restrictive Rules

Behind the vu where the various services of coexist streaming As for music, it is not hard to imagine that these companies face many problems, especially with each other. Today the Spotify exposed one of these frictions with its biggest rival in the music market, the Apple.

To denounce some of the actions considered unequal and anti-competitive by the giant of Cupertino, the Swedish company has taken some public and procedural measures. In this regard, Spotify has created the “Fair Play Time” web page (“Time to Play Fair”), in addition to the above video.

In procedural terms, Daniel Ek filed a complaint with the European Commission (EC) against Apple for "purposely limiting choice and stifling innovation at the expense of user experience". According to the CEO of Spotify, in recent years Apple has introduced rules in the App Store that allow it to essentially act as a referee to "deliberately disadvantage other app developers."

The executive particularly referred to a 30% charge on purchases / subscriptions made from the App Store. As we commented on other times, this Ma “commission” is already included in the app / service value and, in the case of Spotify, makes your plan premium cost $ 13 through Ma's store, unlike $ 10 charged outside of Ma.

Ek believes this gives Apple an "unfair advantage" as Spotify is unable to compete with the price charged by Apple Music ($ 10) within the App Store. On the other hand, Spotify simply cannot opt ​​out of receiving payments through the App Store (as Netflix did), as Apple could “enforce a number of restrictions” on company products and services such as Siri. , HomePod and Apple Watch.

Still in a note, the executive said he unsuccessfully tried to solve problems directly with Apple, and that now the EC must take the necessary steps to ensure fair competition. He emphasized, however, that this is not a matter of “Spotify versus Apple ”, but rather a search for fair rules for“ young and old, big and small ”companies.

We are not seeking special treatment. We simply want the same treatment as many other App Store apps like Uber or Deliveroo, which are not subject to Apple's tax and therefore do not have the same restrictions.

To achieve this “balance”, Ek has set three fundamental points: First, all apps / services, including Apple Music, must be subject to the same set of rules and restrictions, regardless of “who owns the App Store”.

Secondly, consumers should be able to choose precisely the best method of payment without being forced to choose a system with discriminatory rates, such as Apple's. Finally, application stores should not be allowed to control communications between services and users, including placing unfair marketing restrictions and promotions that benefit consumers.

With the complaint, Spotify took a big step against one of Apple's most common practices. Many developers have already tried to discuss this Ma billing policy, but usually they don't have much power to cause any change.

For now, Apple has not officially commented on the complaint and / or the Spotify web publications. Even if it does not do so publicly, it is certain that the Cupertino giant should offer EC some statement on the matter. We'll see.

via TechCrunch