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US: Spotify and Apple trade responses

By  |  March 17, 2019

On Wednesday, March 13, Spotify filed a complaint with the European Union, alleging that Apple uses unfair practices in the App Store. Specifically, Spotify is upset at the 30% that Apple charges developers for subscriptions, and it claims that it’s designed to give Apple Music an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

Apple pushed back on Spotify’s claims on Friday, stating saying that Spotify “wants all the benefits of a free app without being free,” that it conveniently left out that Apple’s 30% cut drops to 15% after a year, and that only a “tiny fraction” of subscribers sign up via the App store.

In its latest statement, Spotify stated that “every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong and will argue that they have the best interests of competitors and consumers at heart,” and went on to reiterate that Apple’s policies hurt consumers. “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.”

Full Content: New York Times

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