Apple this week introduced new watches, tablets and also “Super subscriptions” to their services, which includes Apple Music, Apple TV + and Apple Arcade in our market, and adds additional space on iCloud storage. This offer has upset Spotify operators considerably, as they feel that their service is suddenly disadvantaged on apple platforms.
Spotify: Apple One violates free market rules
According to Spotify, Apple is abusing its dominant position and unfair practices to the detriment of competition and to promote its own services. Spotify operators are loudly calling on antitrust authorities to take action against this behavior before irreparable damage occurs to the developer community.
Although Spotify operators haven’t directly said what bothers them about the Apple One package, it’s easy to guess that the apple of contention is price. The very battle of Spotify vs. Apple Music is financially unequal, as Spotify users have to pay tithes of Apple on each apple device with each transaction, which of course doesn’t have to bother Apple Music on their own. In addition, when a user receives additional services for Apple Music at a discounted price, the competition has practically no chance to offer an adequate answer. That is, if it is unilaterally focused and does not plan to expand its portfolio of services and combine them into packages.
Apple: the customer can choose alternatives
Apple, of course, defends itself against all allegations of abuse of a dominant position and defends the Apple One service – it is said to have been created to save users money, but it does not prevent them from searching for and enjoying alternative services on apple platforms.
Apple’s response to Spotify’s criticism that the Apple One bundle abuses Apple’s market position favor Apple Music, in full: pic.twitter.com/Agn3PvdqA5
— Stephen Nellis (@StephenNellis) September 15, 2020
We are curious whether Spotify will limit itself to a twitter shootout or, like the Epic Games game studio, will embark on a major court battle with Apple.
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