Apple is attempting to ‘cause grave harm’ to Spotify by rejecting a new version of its iOS app, according to the Swedish streaming giant.
Spotify’s legal team has written to their Apple counterparts claiming the latter is attempting to damage Apple Music rivals.
The new version of the app was rejected by Apple because of Spotify wants to offer alternate payment methods, beyond iTunes subscriptions of which Apple gets a 30 per cent cut.
“This latest episode raises serious concerns under both US and EU competition law,” general counsel Horacio Gutierrez wrote to his Apple counterpart Bruce Sewell in a letter obtained by Recode.
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Spotify has long attempted to circumvent Apple’s rules by charging £13/$13 a month for iTunes-based subscriptions.
Rather than simply passing the costs onto customers, Spotify has made it evident that a £10/$10 a month rate is available to those subscribing through its own portals.
Apple’s policy has been in place since 2011, so this isn’t a new thing, but it seems Spotify has attempted to sneak a version of the app through that can by-pass iTunes billing.
The letter is perhaps the first public spat between Apple and Spotify since the launch of Apple Music last summer.
Spotify recently claimed the arrival of Apple on the streaming scene had raised awareness and contributed to a rise in subscribers.
Right now Apple Music has about 15 million subscribers, while of the 100m Spotify users, 30 million are paying customers.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
