Spotify slams Apple’s ‘outrageous’ app commission
Spotify has fired a scathing response at Apple after the tech giant set out new commission fees of up to 27% in the United States.
Apple confirmed it would allow app developers to sell products outside its store, as long as a significant transaction fee was paid.
The streaming heavyweight claims the decision is “outrageous”, in what is the latest saga in an ongoing tussle over fees between the two firms. Spotify, based in Stockholm, Sweden, has urged authorities in the European Union and the United Kingdom to prevent a similar fee imposition.
The iPhone maker’s decision comes following another long-running dispute with Fortnite developer Epic Games which led to a court finding Apple had acted in contravention of US competition laws by not allowing developers to inform users of other ways of paying. This included links that bypass the Apple Store payment system and the 30% fee that is charged to use it.
The outcome is the multi-trillion dollar company installed a commission of up to 27% as part of its new rules for app developers to allow users to sign up and pay for services without using its system in the US.
Apple accused of negating competition and choice
Spotify has reacted with fury in a statement in an interview with the Financial Times.
“Once again, Apple has demonstrated that they will stop at nothing to protect the profits they exact on the backs of developers and consumers under their app store monopoly. Their latest move in the U.S. — imposing a 27% fee for transactions made outside of an app on a developer’s website — is outrageous and flies in the face of the court’s efforts to enable greater competition and user choice.”
Last year, Spotify accused Apple of having an “insane” level of control over the internet in a previous fee wrangle and now it wants the British government to oversee a different approach in the UK, as outlined in the BBC report.
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