Spotify accuses the Apple company of refusing to publish in the App Store an update for the application used by a very large number of users around the world, the Swedes stating that this strategy is contrary to the competition legislation in the USA and Europe, the users also being affected because of .
At the center of the problem is the intention of those from Apple to oblige Spotify to pay a percentage of subscriptions sold through the application to iDevice owners, the American company forcing any developer to sell subscriptions in applications through the iTunes Store so that it collects 30% of the money paid by users.
Those from Spotify instead accuse Apple of trying to undermine the streaming service in order to promote it Apple Music, preventing the publication of updates affecting the experience of users, who in the end may choose to give up Spotify in favor of Apple Music to have a better experience for audio streaming.
Apple is constantly accused by Spotify of trying to put sticks in its wheels in attracting new users from the iOS platform, the launch of Apple Music triggering within Apple a campaign to undermine competing audio streaming services, and many people expected for Apple to act in this way.
This latest episode raises serious concerns under both US and EU competition law. It continues a troubling pattern of behavior by Apple to exclude and diminish the competitiveness of Spotify on iOS and as a rival to Apple Music, particularly when seen against the backdrop of Apple's previous anticompetitive conduct aimed at Spotify … we cannot stand by as Apple uses the App Store approval process as a weapon to harm competitors.
Spotify recently announced that it has 100 million users active all over the world and a little over 30 million of them pay monthly subscriptions to be able to use the services, and the Apple company is dissatisfied with the fact that its competitors continue to be successful after Apple Music was launched.
Apple has 15 million subscribers to Apple Music, half of what Spotify has, but the launch of its service also helped the Swedes to grow, although they do not offer their services in as many countries as Apple, the company's expansion could seriously affect Apple Music, many people are dissatisfied with the experience of using the platform.
