Mikey Campbell
Europe's streaming services are again on the hunt for better business arrangements, as Spotify, Deezer and others this week asked the European Commission to rein in U.S. tech firms that are "regularly abusing their advantaged position."
In a joint letter, executives from a number of European companies, including Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek and Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht, urged the European Commission to ensure "a level playing field" for products marketed on platforms like Apple's App Store, the Financial Times reports. Along with streaming music services, signatories include games publishers and developers.
Echoing statements made in previous complaints, the companies claim larger platform operators that are also competitors, like Apple and Amazon, put them at a crucial disadvantage. Apple, for example, runs the iOS App Store, a dominant player in the app distribution game, where it also markets the Apple Music streaming service.
As it has done in the past on more than one occasion, Spotify notes it must pay Apple 30 percent of all App Store revenue, including fees for recurring subscriptions. The streaming music service failed to mention that Apple recently updated its subscription policy by dropping its cut to 15 percent for subscriptions older than one year.
To offset Apple's take, Spotify sells its premium subscription tier for $13 per month when users sign up through the iOS app, a $3 premium over the $10 users pay when registering through the web. Spotify has said that it views Apple's cut as "a weapon to harm competitors," as Apple sells its own music service for $10 per month.
In any case, it seems Apple's concession are not enough. The group of companies, which includes UK-based shopping comparison site Foundem, seeks "clear and enforceable obligations that are a deterrent and prevent unfair businesses practices by platforms."
"These obligations should include but go beyond mere transparency requirements, which alone will not ensure platforms act as gateways rather than become gatekeepers to the digital economy," the letter reads.
The group also assert that platform owners like Apple do not allow access to comprehensive user analytics, a complaint that has cropped up in the past.
The letter arrives as the commission considers a drastic overhaul of its digital policy. Among the topics of debate are allegedly unfair contracts mandated by dominant platforms like Apple's App Store. Previous reports suggest the commission is thinking about creating an independent body to handle disputes between large companies and smaller firms.
Today's complaint is the latest in a string of actions against Apple on the part of Spotify. Earlier this year, the streaming music firm filed a nearly identical complaint with the European Commission, though that letter failed to mention offenders by name.
In 2016, Spotify went so far as to accuse Apple of monopolistic practices when an updated version of its iOS app was rejected from the App Store.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
55 Comments
I bet if Spotify wasn't struggling they wouldn't say a word...The only time you start complaining is when you start losing.
translation: we’re not profitable.
Yup, and movie theater chains abuse their dominant position by selling snacks at high prices and not letting their customers bring their own food in, and restaurants do the same, wth corkage fees, etc, etc. except it’s not abuse. If you own the venue you don’t have to allow vendors to market and sell their wares on your turf. And while Apple will sell you an iPhone or iPad, transferring ownership and all rights of the hardware to the customer, they do not sell you the OS; that’s licensed and therefore remains the property of Apple. In that respect, iOS is somewhat equivalent to a movie house. Vendors wishing to sell food in a movie house certainly pay a fee to do so, and the movie house has every right to chargefor access, because it provides the venue and the customer draw. Same with Apple’s iOS. Duh!
I really don’t care fit companies that complain about Apple’s AppStore policies. They build it promote it and support it. They pay the processing fees and process cancelations and returns. Without them their service would not be where it is. If Apple didn’t do all that they do, many of these companies would have died long ago, or never been thought of.
My main point, they make in the article. Apple takes 30% of Customers that sign up via The App. Meaning they were not already a customer of theirs. They were Apple’s Customer. Apples website, AppStore, tv or print ads and Name brought them to the platform.
If if Spotify and others did a better job marketing and invested more than Apple to draw thier subscribers, they would signup on their website and then be prompted to download the app. Apple takes 0% of that. Realistically there is no reason why Apple couldn’t charge for every download of Spotify. When was the last time you walked into a physical store and everything was free?
Whiners.