Continue the tug of war between Spotify and Appletwo giants in their respective fields that for years have continued to battle on the issue of purchases on the App Store.
The popular Swedish music streaming service has decided in these hours to no longer accept Apple’s in-app purchases as a form of payment for Premium subscriptions. The new chapter in a long dispute between the two companies, which accuse each other of unfair and anti-competitive practices.
Spotify vs Apple: It all started in 2016
Spotify began offering the option to pay for its Premium subscription through Apple’s App Store in June 2014, but discontinued this option for new customers in May 2016, contesting the Big Bitten Apple’s “tax” on purchases made through Apple’s App Store. your own Store. Since then, the ability to pay via the App Store has only been granted to old subscribers. However, now they too will have to select a new payment method.
This is confirmed by the emails sent by Spotify to its Apple users (via Variety). In messages, the platform informs subscribers that their account will switch to the free version with advertising and that to reactivate the Premium, will have to set up a new payment method.
Apple’s tax
Spotify’s decision is motivated by the will of avoid the 15% “tax” that Apple applies on purchases made through the App Store. Spotify believes this fee is unfair and harmful to competition, so much so that it filed a formal complaint with the European Commission in 2019.
Spotify had also previously had disagreements with Google, which charges a similar fee on purchases through the Play Store. However, the two companies struck a multi-year deal last year that allows Android users to choose whether to pay with Spotify’s payment system or Google Play Billing.
Meanwhile, according to data released by the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), Spotify is confirmed as the most used music streaming platform in the world. They complete the podium Apple Music e Amazon Music followed by YouTube Music e Pandora. Notable absent from the Top 5 is Tidal.