Sounds like Spotify and Epic have been chatting: Music streamer blasts Apple One service as 'anti-competitive'

Spotify has claimed Apple's new subscription bundle, Apple One, will "disadvantage competitors" and "threaten our collective freedoms to listen, learn, create, and connect". In a statement, the streaming service argued Apple One will "deprive consumers by favoring its own services" and urged regulators to take action against …

[steviebuk]

When will it happen!?

I've been waiting patiently for years for Apple to be hit with the anti-trust suit they deserve. If MS got one for the way they screwed Netscape, then Apple have deserved one long ago. Considering they were found guilty of price fixing ebooks, how have they never been hit with one?

[a_yank_lurker]

Re: When will it happen!?

Two words: market share. Fruit does not have majority market share in their major markets while the Rejects of Redmond had ~95% of the key market share (OS) at the time they were sued. Fruit may be making it potentially difficult for Spotify in the Fruit market but there is a large market that Fruit's services will not reach.

[chivo243]

Re: When will it happen!?

Agreed, the IE case is in a different class of dirty pool. Apple is making easy to use(get roped into) all of their services, nothing wrong with that, good marketing really. Everything is still available in the Appstore, Apple hasn't banned Spotify yet. The smart user will use what they use, Let the buyer beware...

I completely understand the "30% in app purchase burn" felt by the sellers in the Appstore.

[Steve Davies 3]

Re: "30% in app purchase burn"

In the interest of fairness...

"30% in app purchase burn" is also the same for many other platforms including the Google Play Store.

Strange that they all came up with the same figure as Old Rotten To the core Apple...

[Alumoi]

Re: When will it happen!?

Remind me again how much Apple is worth? Imagine the number of politicians that money can buy.

[Anonymous Coward]

My sympathy is with apple

simply because both spotify and epic agreed to operate within Apples rules, if they are reneging upon their original agreement then they are in the wrong.

No one forced spotify or epic to agree, they both have markets beyond apple but regardless they chose to sign up with all that entailed and now they want to use politics to change the deal after the fact.

If epic or spotify truely wanted to leave the walled garden then that would be their choice that they did not shows that this is all just sound bites in the hope of bullying apple into giving them a better deal than the one they signed up for.

Lastly it must be said that Apple can live without both epic and/or spotify, in reality are each just one company amongst many others others offering pretty much the same service.

P.S. I am not an apple owner but I do know that if you sign upon the dotted line then it is for the whole contract rather than just the bits you want. Apple customers are clearly loyal to apple, epic/spotify are just plain wrong if they think that their services are why people buy apple products.

[MichaelLoucks]

The only companies bitching are the ones who want a complete free ride on Apple's platform, where Apple gets ZERO. While 30% (and 15% for subsequent years) might be high, I use Patreon which takes 10% of pledges for payment processing and hosting. What Epic and Spotify want would be the equivalent of Patreon being forced to host my content for free, and letting me use my own payment system in place of theirs, on THEIR platform, with them getting zero.

When Spotify start paying reasonable royalties, then perhaps I’ll care what they say. As for Epic, They made their bed by breaking the rules. Generally 7nder US law that means the do not have ‘clean hands’ and in our system, “equity only comes with clean hands’.”

[Paul 195]

There are a number of possible price points between 0% and 30%, and Apple should show some flexibility in negotiating one that is fair. Epic and Spotify aren't asking for a free ride, they are asking for something better than the school bully demanding a third of their lunch money every day.

[Falmari]

Platform

It is not really a platform though, the IPhone and IOS are really just a computer with apps installed on them. The owner of the IPhone has already paid for it once, it is a bit rich expecting them to pay 30% on any software they install.

The only reason to call it a platform is that there is no other way to install onto the phone with out going through Apple. Some might say that is a platform, I would call it restrictive practices.

Also they are not asking for a free ride they write the app not Apple they don't pay for Windows for example.

Also Spotify have to make an app for the Apple Phone, you purchase a Spotify account and use it on multiply devices you own. If they did not make an app for the IPhone it means that customers may move to someone that does produce players that does cover the devices they own. Let me see does not Apple Music run on other devices?

I don't have a problem with bundling but charging a competing service 30% to run on a phone! How would you feel if your ISP did this produce a service similar to one already out their and then restrict the others unless they paid.

[Pascal Monett]

"threaten our collective freedoms to listen, learn, create, and connect"

Um, sorry, but I have trouble accepting that statement.

It is not because your competition has a strong platform that it is stifling freedom, creation and learning. As for connecting, take your grievances to FaceBook.

I'm not defending Apple in any way shape or form, but my liberty to learn, create and share does not depend on Apple's good will and benevolence. There are other means and platforms to use, and Spotify will not be able to transform this in a meeting at OK Corral. If Spotify dies, Apple will not take over the world.

I understand that lawyers have to build a case, but saying that Apple is the guardian of freedom and creation is going a bit too far.

And, as far as learning is concerned, there's Curiosity Stream, Brilliant, TED talks, SciShow, Geographics and hundreds more.

Sorry, Spotify, you're on shifting sands if you go down that route.

[σύνβάλλω]

Greedy mudfighting

I perceive all this as a big PR stunt hoping to access better treatment. I highly doubt that Apple will reserve Spotify the same privileges as it did with Tencent. The hardware/financial numbers at stake aren't just the same, and it would create a western precedent.

Epic and Spotify really don't deserve our pity, nor does the poisonous walled garden.

[Anonymous Coward]

I only think it's kinda funny that I am still not able to have Spotify on my Apple Watch without my phone when I go out for a run. And it feels to me that I am being 'forced' to subscribe to Apple Music only, but I won't. So I just sync the MP3 files that I ripped from CD, or downloaded with Audfree Spotify to MP3 converter onto my watch for offline playback. It's cumbersome.