Spotify vs. Apple: the latest updates – The Verge

Apple will reportedly face a $539 million fine over Spotify’s antitrust complaint

2024-02-18T11:13:10-05:00

A Sunday morning report from the Financial Times says the €500 million (about $539 million USD) fine comes after regulators investigated a Spotify complaint that Apple policies prevent iPhone apps from telling users about cheaper alternatives to Apple's music service.

The issue comes down to Apple's efforts to keep apps and users corraled inside its App Store payments system. Spotify complained in 2019 that Apple's policies muted competition against Apple Music, kicking off an EU investigation the next year. The EU whittled its objections down to oppose Apple's refusal to let developers even link out to their own subscription sign-ups wit …

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Apple says its new Apple One services bundle isn’t unfair to Spotify

2020-09-15T19:14:31-04:00

Apple, the world's most valuable company, is currently under assault by Fortnite developer Epic Games in an incredible legal and cultural fight, but Epic was hardly the first to accuse Apple of abusing monopolistic power.

Today, Spotify - the music service whose complaints helped launch two official EU antitrust investigations into Apple's App Store and Apple Pay practices - has taken offense at Apple's announcement of an all-in-one subscription bundle that includes its rival Apple Music.

Here's Spotify's statement:

Once again, Apple is using its dominant position and unfair practices to disadvantage competitors and deprive consumers by f …

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EU opens Apple antitrust investigations into App Store and Apple Pay practices

2020-06-16T06:35:44-04:00

The European Commission is opening two antitrust investigations into Apple's App Store and Apple Pay practices today.

The first investigation will probe whether Apple has broken EU competition rules with its App Store policies, following complaints by Spotify and Rakuten over Apple's 30 percent cut on subscriptions and sales of ebooks through its App Store.

"We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books," says Margrethe Vestager, the head of the EU's antitrust division. "I have theref …

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Spotify CEO expects Apple will ‘open up’ even more in the future

2020-05-05T19:44:22-04:00

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said he expects longtime rival Apple will "open up" iOS and its platforms more in the future as a result of contention with developers and growing antitrust concern from regulators, according to an interview with Ek published on Tuesday by Bloomberg.

Spotify filed a regulatory complaint with the European Union last year, calling Apple's mandatory 30 percent App Store cut a "tax" that stifles innovation and unfairly benefits Apple against its competitors. Spotify also cited Apple's control over system-level features like its Siri voice assistant, which at the time did not work with Spotify but naturally did integrate wi …

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Spotify now works with Siri on the Apple Watch

2020-04-02T12:08:09-04:00

Apple Watch users can now ask Siri to play music through Spotify. With an update to Spotify's app today, spotted by 9to5Mac, you can now ask Siri to play music through Spotify by ending a music request with "on Spotify." The example Spotify gives is something as simple as "Hey Siri, play music on Spotify."

It's a small update, but it's an overdue one for the Apple Watch. Apple only started allowing third-party music apps to integrate with Siri last year with the launch of iOS 13 and watchOS 6. Spotify immediately began supporting the feature on iPhones, but it's taken until now to expand to the Apple Watch.

By default, Siri serves music re …

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Spotify rolls out Siri support and new Apple TV app

2019-10-07T09:35:10-04:00

Spotify has launched the ability to play music with Apple's Siri voice assistant on the iPhone and iPad. The new feature, only recently made possible in iOS 13, puts Spotify on more equal footing with Apple Music. It showed up in the company's beta app in late September, but it has now rolled out to all users. Another new addition will automatically put Spotify into Data Saver mode when you activate Low Data Mode on your device.

You can ask Siri to play music through Spotify on iOS and iPadOS. According to Spotify, Siri can also control the app in CarPlay, and you can use AirPlay to play music on your HomePod with voice commands as well.

A …

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Apple and Spotify are reportedly in talks to let Siri play your Discover Weekly

2019-08-13T15:47:37-04:00

Apple and Spotify are in talks about potentially enabling Siri to play songs, albums, and playlists from the leading subscription music service. A new report from The Information confirms that Spotify would be taking advantage of new capabilities that Apple is introducing in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, which allow other apps to be on equal footing with Apple Music when making music requests through the company's Siri voice assistant. If Spotify takes advantage of the new tools, you'll be able to play music without having to open the app on your iPhone or iPad.

The integration could be a sign of progress between two companies that have butted head …

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Apple cites irrelevant Spotify subscription stats in new antitrust defense

2019-06-24T14:30:05-04:00

Apple has filed its response to Spotify's antitrust complaint in Europe, and its answer is essentially that Spotify has greatly exaggerated how much money is being taken by the App Store. Apple says that it's currently taking a 15 percent cut of subscription fees for around 680,000 Spotify subscribers, representing 0.5 percent of Spotify's total subscribers, and that Spotify is not paying a 30 percent cut on anything. The details were first reported by Der Spiegel.

The takeaway message is supposed to be that Spotify is blowing its complaint way out of proportion, but those small numbers don't tell the full story - they basically don't matte …

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Apple’s latest defense of the App Store just shows how hard it is to compete with Apple

2019-05-29T10:21:01-04:00

As it faces both an antitrust lawsuit with huge implications and a formal EU investigation over its App Store tactics, Apple is today publicly defending itself against Spotify and other critics of the company's massively successful software storefront.

"Today, the App Store is more vibrant and innovative than ever, offering equal opportunities to developers to deliver their apps and services across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch," reads a new page at Apple's website titled "App Store - Principles and Practices." "We're proud of the store we've built and the way we've built it."

Apple says it has paid out $120 billion to App S …

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Apple to be formally investigated over Spotify’s antitrust complaint, says report

2019-05-06T03:14:14-04:00

The EU is preparing to launch a formal antitrust investigation against Apple following Spotify's official complaint, reports the Financial Times. Spotify claims that Apple uses its App Store to stifle innovation and limit consumer choice in favor of its own Apple Music service.

Following Spotify's complaint in March, the EU surveyed customers, rivals, and others before deciding to launch a formal investigation "in the next few weeks," reports the FT.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is particularly concerned with the "Apple tax," whereby Apple takes a 30-percent cut on every Spotify subscription signed up via the App Store during the first year, and …

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