A Spotify EU complaint brought against Apple says that Apple stifles competition because of Apple’s 30% App Store tax.
Spotify EU Complaint
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says in a blog post that the company filed a complaint with the European Commission, which is the EU’s regulatory body that deals with fair and non-discriminatory competition when it comes to companies.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
Apple requires that Spotify and other digital services pay a 30% tax on purchases made through Apple’s payment system, including upgrading from our Free to our Premium service. If we pay this tax, it would force us to artificially inflate the price of our Premium membership well above the price of Apple Music. And to keep our price competitive for our customers, that isn’t something we can do.
Mr. Ek goes on to say that if Spotify chose not to sell its service through the App Store, Apple would limit its interaction with customers. Spotify did opt out of Apple’s payment system back in 2016, but it still can’t email Apple customers about offers and other information.
Spotify isn’t just trying to sway the European Commission but the public as well, as outlined by its video above.
They want access to all Apple’s customers for free. They should pay.
Well then develop for Android, those users spend a lot of money on apps. /snark