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For years, Spotify and its co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek have been embroiled in a dispute with Apple over what the music streaming service says is anti-competitive conduct by its Apple Store.
At the heart of the matter are issues critical to Spotify’s success. The fee he pays Apple every time someone makes a purchase through his Spotify app downloaded through the App Store, and the restrictions Apple imposes on marketing apps within its store. engage.
These are not details. Apple has been known to charge third-party app developers his as much as 30% commission on sales on the App Store, and regulators have warned that services like Spotify will notify iPhones and iPads. accused of engaging in “anti-steering” practices that impede Describes services that users can purchase outside of the Apple Store. For Spotify, these services compete directly with Apple’s own Apple Music.
In the latest salvo of the war, Ek is this week in Washington, D.C., lobbying lawmakers to pass a law that would prevent Apple from engaging in “anti-steering” conduct.
Such bills have been floating around Congress since last year. The Open App Markets Act is a bipartisan bill backed by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Republican Senators. Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee.
“Apple prohibits competition by not allowing developers to discuss new products, features and deals with their users.”
Daniel Mee, Spotify
Both Apple and Google, which run their own Play stores on Android devices, openly opposed the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York chose not to bring the bill to Congress. As a result, the bill stalled. voting hall.
Now, Ek is calling on parliamentary leaders to introduce the bill into law.
“Apple prohibits competition by not allowing developers to discuss new products, features and deals with their users,” Ek said in a statement issued Wednesday. said.
“For example, Apple advertises Apple Music deals to Spotify customers but refuses to give us the same privileges. [iPhone and iPad] It guides users through the basics of how to sign up for a Spotify subscription and buy audiobooks.
“This prevents customers from making informed choices about available services and pricing options. And we are not the only ones feeling this impact. talking to developers [who are] We are handicapped by the small number of gatekeepers that control the Internet. ”
Ek’s fight against Apple dates back nearly a decade, but the dispute intensified in 2019 when Spotify filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission. unfair advantage.
Apple countered, claiming that Spotify actually paid Apple a 15% commission on sales made through the Apple Store, but only to a small percentage of its total paying user base.
Nonetheless, the EU launched an investigation into Apple Store business practices in 2020, which is still ongoing. Earlier this year, however, the company narrowed the scope of its investigation, essentially dropping it to allegations related to an “app tax” and focusing solely on anti-steering practices.
And the EU isn’t the only one investigating Apple Stores. The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating him since 2019. wall street journal In February of this year, the division drafted a potential antitrust complaint against Apple.
So while Spotify appears to have made little progress in its fight against Apple Store fees, it appears to be gaining some momentum in its fight against Apple’s anti-steering practices.
LiveMint reports that Ek met in Washington this week with Schumer, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimond and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Ek told news sources that audiobooks will play an important role in Spotify’s business going forward, but so far the experience of buying Spotify audiobooks on Apple devices has been “pretty bad.”
But despite all the strife between Spotify and Apple, it looks like the two could still reach an agreement — over the commission Spotify had to pay the tech giant for in-app purchases. Just like we did with Google.
Under the agreement announced last year, users who downloaded the Spotify app from the Google Play store will be given the option to pay using either Spotify’s payment system or Google Play’s payment system.
“This will allow anyone to freely subscribe and purchase using their chosen payment option directly in the Spotify app,” Spotify said in a statement.
“Spotify will continue to communicate freely with users about its premium subscription service, facilitate discounts and promotions, and allow free tier listeners to convert to premium directly in the app.”global music business
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