Apple: Spotify wants the benefits of a free app without being a free app

Spotify wants to have the benefits of a free app, according to Apple, without being a free app. For example, according to Apple, the music company does not want to transfer money to Apple, while it does receive income from the App Store. Apple also says it has not blocked Spotify updates.

That’s according to a statement released by Apple. According to Apple, Spotify has taken advantage of the App Store for years to grow extremely quickly. Now the Swedish maker of the music app of the same name wants to use the benefits of the App Store without paying for the digital market, Apple says.

The statement is in response to a blog post by Spotify founder Daniel Ek. E argues that Apple creates unfair competition. For example, some paid apps have to pay thirty percent to Apple if they use the payment system of the American company. For example, for users who purchase a paid Premium subscription via the Spotify app, the music company must give thirty percent of the revenue to Apple.

Companies like Uber or Deliveroo do not have to pay that ‘tax’. In addition, the payment creates unfair competition with Apple Music, says Ek. If it were to pass the tax on to the customer, Spotify’s price would have to be higher than Apple Music’s. And that, according to Ek, is not fair.

Apple now confirms that app makers must indeed pay 30 percent of the digital products purchased in the app. But according to the company, the share that Apple actually gets from Spotify is relatively small. For example, most consumers use the free version of Spotify. Apple doesn’t get any money from that. A ‘substantial share’ of Spotify users also have a subscription that has been taken out via a telecom provider. Apple doesn’t get any money from that either. Apple writes that the American company has built a platform, set of development tools and a payment environment for app makers, which Spotify also uses. Now Spotify wants to take advantage of all those benefits, without paying for it, Apple argues.

On the point that Apple Music creates unfair competition, Apple does not respond. However, the company confirms that companies that provide ‘physical products such as taxis and meal delivery services’ do not have to pay any amount. The company refers to Uber and Deliveroo. For digital products and services, such as the products that Spotify offers, thirty percent must indeed be paid. The company does note that the figure of thirty percent is halved after the first year of an annual subscription.

Spotify further claimed in its letter that if Spotify did not use Apple’s payment system, the American company would impose ‘technical and experience-limiting restrictions’. Also, updates from the company would be regularly blocked and access to Siri, HomePod and the Apple Watch would have been denied.

This is not true according to Apple. The company only claims to have requested adjustments for updates if Spotify “tried to circumvent the rules.” The company denies having denied access to its products and services. In fact, the Spotify Watch app is the #1 app in the Watch Music category,” the company writes.

Apple claims that Spotify has unfair trade practices. Artists are underpaid. Spotify was recently forced by the American Copyright Royalty Board to pay more to music makers, Billboard wrote.

In addition to the blog post, Spotify has also filed a complaint with the European Commission. The complaint can lead to an investigation and ultimately a fine. A spokesperson for the European Commission has confirmed that the complaint has been received and is under review.