It has been revealed that Apple may be fined 500 million euros ($539 million) by the European Commission financial times on Sunday. According to reports, the American company deliberately pushed Apple Music on the App Store in favor of other music platforms such as Spotify.
The complaints against the Swedish audio streaming platform date back to 2019, when Spotify complained that Apple Music as a platform did not pay royalties to the parent company and did not face the same onerous conditions as third-party services.
Apple later tried to deny the accusations and issued a rebuttal, but it didn’t sound that convincing.
The EU initially hoped to fine Apple up to 10% of global turnover, a fine of approximately $40 billion, which would shock the technology world.
The main problem is that Spotify has to pay Apple tax, which is 30% of all transactions (in this case, $3 for every $10 Premium subscription). While Cupertino says this only applies to the first year of subscription and then the share drops to 15%, it doesn’t affect returning customers who unsubscribe and sign up again at a later stage.
Apple also claims that Spotify wouldn’t be successful if it weren’t for a “free” app on the App Store, and the app isn’t free for developers – they still have to pay a fee to use a developer account.
If you live in the EU, you’ll experience the new Spotify. There you can view any subscription pricing, promotions or offers, and even make purchases, all seamlessly within the app. Find out what this means for you: https://t.co/j1hYRC3S5c pic.twitter.com/p1GDY6PNdd
— Spotify News (@SpotifyNews) January 24, 2024
This conflict is also the main reason why Spotify has not launched in-app purchases yet. If Apple complies with the DMA (Digital Markets Act), European users may be the first to experience the new features, but this is another open front where the two companies are clashing.
source