Spotify CEO Expects Apple to Continue to ‘Open Up’ After Lodging Complaint

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has said he expects Apple to continue to open up after the streaming company filed an anti-trust complaint with the European Union.

While speaking with Bloomberg, Ek said that in the “long term, we expect Apple to open up”. Spotify has been critical of Apple’s App Store rules and limited app updates. This, in turn, has prevented specific functionality through both Apple Watch and Siri.

Additionally, Ek has been outspoken of the 30% fee Apple takes from subscriptions. He believes that since Apple is both a provider and a competitor, there are more incentives for Apple to put rival services at a disadvantage. In 2019, the head of the Stockholm-based music streaming service filed a complaint to the EU.

Since that time, Apple has begun to open up incrementally. A Siri update was released, letting users use voice commands on other services other than Apple’s. Spotify has also been able to issue updates on Apple Watch and Apple TV. “We’re very encouraged about being able to now finally use Siri as a way of building in voice support and also being available to build products for the Apple TV and Apple Watch, something that we haven’t been able to do until very recently,” Ek said during his interview.

In March of last year, Apple responded to the anti-trust complaint by saying: “The majority of customers use their free, ad-supported product, which makes no contribution to the App Store.”

At this point and time, Spotify is still waiting for Apple to open up its HomePod to third-party music apps. Although, plans are in motion to have support later this year. Ek has said Apple is “moving in the right direction”. However, there are still “many steps to go” before the company will consider Apple “an open and fair platform”.