He posts a series of links in support of his views, including one from the European Commission which reached a preliminary view that Apple was in breach of European competition law.Īmusingly, he also links to Musk’s tweet in which he claims that Apple’s 30% App Store commission is “a secret.” Apple acts in self interest but also doesn’t seem to care about the law or courts, or for consumer choice. Over and over again gives itself every advantage while at the same time stifling innovation and hurting consumers. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s tweet-stormĮk opens by referencing the complaint, and echoing the claims made within it.įour years ago, we filed a complaint detailing anticompetitive practices. Citing a failure to resolve its issues with Apple directly, it is turning to legal action with a formal complaint to the European Commission. Spotify says Apple is giving itself an “unfair advantage at every turn”. Ultimately, Spotify wants Apple Music to be forced to abide by the same rules that Apple imposes on third-party apps. Spotify targets Apple’s 30% cut - it refers to as a ‘tax’ - as a key element of its complaint but also references rules about how Apple restricts third-party app developers from communicating with customers. The company filed an antitrust complaint against Apple back in 2019, in Europe. This would be impossible given the tiny margins on which streaming music services operate. It says that while Apple can offer subscriptions within the app without any penalty, Spotify would have to give Apple 30% (or 15% from year two) of its subscription revenue if it did the same. Spotify is unhappy with what it considers to be unfair competition from Apple Music. He claims that Apple doesn’t care about consumers, courts, or the law – only its own interests … Background It’s not just Elon Musk using Twitter to complain about Apple (even if Tim Cook is now his new bestie): Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has tweeted a lengthy thread about his views on the Cupertino company.

Ek spotify