Spotify boss heads to Washington to continue his battle against Apple’s App Store policies

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Chris Cook Published Thursday April 20, 2023

Spotify boss Daniel Ek has called on Washington lawmakers to stop Apple’s anti-competitive conduct within the App Store by voting through the Open App Markets Act. said in a new blog post on the matter that the American market is meant to be a market “ruled” by the principle of fair competition.

Ek’s latest blog post (which accompanies a trip to Washington) is Spotify’s latest attempt to force changes to some of the rules Apple applies to apps used on iOS devices. In particular, rules governing in-app transactions.

Many app makers are now obligated to accept payments within their iOS apps via Apple’s fee-charging transaction system. Additionally, there are limitations to providing a signpost to where the user can make payments outside the app, i.e. a large button that directs the user to her web page.

Spotify argues such rules are anti-competitive, especially when Apple itself offers rival services like Apple Music.

When it comes to iOS devices, Spotify needs to swallow Apple’s commissions (essentially its entire profit margin). Or pass the fees on to the customer, making Spotify look more expensive than Apple Music. Or disallow in-app purchases, making it difficult to sign up new premium subscribers or add metered content.

Fortnite maker Epic Games is another company that has been very vocal about the anti-competitive nature of Apple’s App Store rules. We have sought compulsory changes through the courts of several countries. Meanwhile, Spotify has generally urged competition regulators and lawmakers to intervene.

In 2019, we asked the European Commission to launch an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive conduct on Apple’s part. That investigation is still ongoing, and EC regulators recently confirmed that their main concern at the moment is rules preventing the marking of alternative payment options.

The EU’s recent Digital Markets Act could also help, but with intervention from South Korean lawmakers and Japanese regulators, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is also busy investigating major complaints against Apple’s App Store. .

In the United States, the Open App Markets Act, proposed by Senators Richard Blumenthal, Marsha Blackburn, and Amy Klobuchar in 2021, sets out a proposal to force Apple to allow app makers to use and sign alternative payment systems. bottom.

These proposals have since been upheld by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but have made no further progress.

Hence Ek’s trip to Washington and a new blog post. After years of moaning and lobbying about all this, it’s clear that Spotify bosses want to see major changes to Apple’s rules sooner or later.

Such a change is becoming more urgent, perhaps because streaming services are now moving to audiobooks, and Ek said his platform’s audiobook experience isn’t as good on iOS devices due to restrictions imposed by Apple. I admit that it’s not very good.

“As a Swedish entrepreneur, I have long admired the American market, where principles such as innovation, competition and initiative rule,” says his new blog post. “These factors make it home to some of the most successful companies in the world.”

“I believed in many of these same principles when I founded Spotify almost 17 years ago,” he continues. “If we can build better systems, work harder and innovate like crazy, we might be able to change an industry for the better, even an industry as long established as the music industry. yeah.”

“But as any entrepreneur will tell you, building a business is full of twists and turns,” he adds. “While we anticipated some of these challenges, we did not anticipate the ongoing battles over fair competition as digital markets take shape.”

For more information, he continues: Apple prohibits competition by not allowing developers to discuss new products, features, and deals with their users. ”

“For example, Apple advertises Apple Music deals to Spotify customers but refuses to give us the same privileges. or even tell users the basics of how to purchase an audiobook, which prevents customers from making an informed choice about the services and pricing options available. ”

As for how lawmakers in Washington can help, he said:

“Despite broad bipartisan support and overwhelming approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee,” he continued, “Congress hadn’t taken it up by the end of the year. played a leading role in urging passage of the Open App Markets Act to promote competition by providing a basic check against anti-competitive behavior that harms both developers and consumers. increase.”

It remains to be seen whether this latest glamorous attack in Washington will deliver the goods.