Spotify's CEO Expects Apple to Further 'Open Up' After EU Antitrust Complaint
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek today told Bloomberg that he expects Apple to further "open up" in long term following the antitrust complaint Spotify filed with the European Union last year.
In the complaint, Spotify said that Apple enforces App Store rules that "purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience," and that Apple acts as "both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers."
Spotify specifically took issue with Apple's 30 percent fee collected on App Store purchases, which has forced Spotify to charge subscribers through the App Store $12.99 per month for its Premium plan instead of the $9.99 per month fee it normally collects.
The European Union subsequently launched an investigation into Apple, even though Apple claimed Spotify's complaint was "misleading rhetoric."
Apple has since made a few changes, launching a feature that allows Siri to work with non-Apple Music services, and Spotify has also introduced new Apple Watch and Apple TV apps. Ek said these moves have been encouraging.
"We're very encouraged about being able to now finally use Siri as a way of building in voice support and also being available to build products for the Apple TV and Apple Watch, something that we haven't been able to do until very recently," Ek said in the interview. It's unclear if Spotify was actually prevented from launching an Apple TV app as the platform has had other music services for multiple years as App Store apps.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg said that Apple is working on a new feature that will allow third-party apps like Spotify to run natively on the HomePod, and there may be an option that will allow users to change the default music app on iOS and iPadOS 14, further leveling the playing field between Apple and its competitors.
Apple, said Ek is "moving in the right direction," but there are "many, many steps" still to go before Spotify will consider Apple an "open and fair platform."
Popular Stories
After announcing new Mac and HomePod models last week, Apple adjusted its trade-in values for select devices in the United States.
iPhone trade-in values decreased by up to $80, and most Android smartphones also went down. Mac trade-in values remained unchanged or increased by up to $40 depending on the model, while some Apple Watch models increased in value and others decreased. Trade-in...
Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are expected to be announced in September as usual. Already, rumors suggest the devices will have at least seven exclusive features not available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
An overview of the seven features rumored to be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro models:A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with an A17...
While the new Mac mini with the M2 chip has a lower $599 starting price, the base model with 256GB of storage has slower SSD read and write speeds compared to the previous-generation model with the M1 chip and 256GB of storage.
A teardown of the new Mac mini shared by YouTube channel Brandon Geekabit reveals that the 256GB model is equipped with only a single 256GB storage chip, while the...
Apple today released tvOS 16.3, the third major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that originally came out in September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.3 comes six weeks after tvOS 16.2, an update that added Apple Music Sing.
The tvOS 16.3 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software...
Apple today released watchOS 9.3, the third major update to the watchOS 9 operating system that first launched in September. watchOS 9.3 comes over a month after watchOS 9.2, an update that added new Workout functionality and Crash Detection optimizations.
watchOS 9.3 can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by opening it up and going to General > Software Update. ...
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 16.3 will be released to the public next week. The software update will be available for the iPhone 8 and newer and includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes.
Below, we've recapped bigger features in iOS 16.3, including support for physical security keys as a two-factor authentication option for Apple ID accounts, worldwide ...
The new M2-series MacBook Pro and Mac mini models launched today, marking the debut of the first M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. We have the M2 Pro Mac mini on hand, and thought we'd take a look at the machine and do a series of benchmarks to see how it fits into Apple's lineup.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Base model Mac mini machines come with either an M2 or M2 Pro...
Apple today released macOS Ventura 13.2, the second major update to the macOS Ventura operating system initially released in October. macOS Ventura 13.2 comes more than a month after macOS Ventura 13.1, an update that added the Freeform app and other changes.
The macOS Ventura 13.2 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System...
Top Rated Comments
That's the not point. First, Apple has made it so that the App Store is the only source of apps. Walmart is not the only source of food, clothes, electronics, etc.
Second, imagine buying a TV at Walmart, and then any streaming services you subscribe to, you have to get them through Walmart's TV App Portal, and the services are 30% higher than everyone else. Hardly fair. Not quite equal because Walmart doesn't have a stranglehold on TV's, whereas the App Store has a stranglehold on apps.
Should Apple make something on in-app purchases? Sure. They can't run an App Store for free (although they've made it so people need it), but 30% for something they had nothing to do with whatsoever? Maybe a couple percent, at most, for the convenience.
This. (and, why Instagram doesn't have an iPad app yet!)
Developers have to pay a yearly fee to be there, then on top of that companies like Spotify have to pay an additional 30% of their income, that is a huge amount of money, I cannot imagine paying 30% of what I charged for a project to anyone.
I hope the EU will do the right thing and support Spotify here.
Yes. I can host my own app, I can deal with payment services, I can do all of that without loosing 30% of my business or overcharging costumers to fill Apple's deep pockets.
Competition breeds innovation, y’all. This is good for consumers. We can’t have monopolies, or they stop innovating.