Spotify calls Apple a ‘monopolist’ as their tension escalates further: Report

The tension between Apple and music streaming service Spotify is catching fire as the two companies continue to take jabs at each other. Last week, it was reported that Spotify had filed a complaint against Apple in the EU anti-trust regulators where it blamed Apple for playing fair as they limited the app’s reach to its users. Following this, Apple countered by saying that Spotify wanted all the benefits of a free app without being free. Now, the tension between Apple and Spotify has escalated even further as Spotify called Apple a ‘monopolist’ and the Cupertino-based technology giant has gone out of its way to write an aggressive statement, which is not something that Apple is known for.

Yesterday, Apple stated on its Newsroom page that the company leaves out the fact that Apple’s fee for use of the secure in-app purchase servers is cut down to 15 percent after the first year of use from 30 percent. They also went on to state that the Cupertino-based company had always helped Spotify with Apple’s Siri and AirPlay 2 compatibility issues.

Apple further added, “Let’s be clear about what that means. Apple connects Spotify to our users. We provide the platform by which users download and update their app. We share critical software development tools to support Spotify’s app building. And we built a secure payment system — no small undertaking — which allows users to have faith in in-app transactions. Spotify is asking to keep all those benefits while also retaining 100 percent of the revenue. Spotify wouldn’t be the business they are today without the App Store ecosystem, but now they’re leveraging their scale to avoid contributing to maintaining that ecosystem for the next generation of app entrepreneurs. We think that’s wrong.”

After Apple’s statement, Variety quoted a Spotify executive saying “Every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong and will argue that they have the best interests of competitors and consumers at heart. In that way, Apple’s response to our complaint before the European Commission is not new and is entirely in line with our expectations. We filed our complaint because Apple’s actions hurt competition and consumers and are in clear violation of the law. This is evident in Apple’s belief that Spotify’s users on iOS are Apple customers and not Spotify customers, which goes to the very heart of the issue with Apple. We respect the process the European Commission must now undertake to conduct its review.”

Last week, the music streaming service had filed a complaint against the Cupertino-based company that they were not playing fair as they limited Spotify’s reach to its users as they gave their own platform – Apple Music more priority. Spotify’s complaint was over Apple Tax and restrictive rules that the company imposes on apps which are part of the App Store. Spotify went further to claim in its complaint that apps and companies who are not willing to pay 30 percent cut of the in-app purchases were prohibited from linking to or even mentioning any means of alternative payment by Apple. Spotify had also stated that Apple uses its power over its platform to make the App Store an ‘uneven playing field’. To which Apple rebutted Spotify’s remarks saying that ‘time to play fair’.