On-going Apple critics Epic Games and Spotify are once again lobbying against the iPhone maker. The two companies are publically relaying their dissatisfaction with Apple’s updated version of compliance for the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Apple announced its new structure to comply with the DMA this week. With loosened restrictions, Apple has added two additional fees, the “Initial Acquisition Fee” and “Store Services Fee. Epic Games and Spotify have made public statements regarding the matter, as reported by TechCrunch.
Apple updates its DMA policy terms on Tuesday of this week. Shortly after, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney published his response on X (formally Twitter). “Apple continues its malicious compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users,” Sweeney states. The CEO continued to claim that Apple’s new terms “make it completely uneconomical for developers to distribute their apps through both the Apple App Store and competing iOS app stores.”
While developers can now link to non-App Store purchase options, with no restrictions to how developers message customers nor control subscription purchases, Apple introduced a new fee structure. These changes were made to comply with the European Union and its imposed DMA.
In addition, Spotify relayed its message regarding Apple’s policy changes. In a statement made to TechCrunch, the music streaming service claims the changes are ” deliberately confusing.” Apple “at first glance” is supposedly working to “blatantly disregard” the requirements of the DMA. “We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, implement daily fines and enforce the DMA,” Spotify says.
Apple believes the new acquisition fee placed on developers using links is reflective of the value the App Store offers as a middleman between developers and their customers. The Store Service Fee imposed by Apple is said to apply to help fund the operations of the App Store. The latter is charged on an annual basis to developers who make new purchases of digital goods via the storefront. These are both applied to developers who accept Apple’s DMA terms and are on top of the Core Technology Fees for app installs.
Under the DMA, the commission percentage paid to Apple is between 10 to 27 percent, lower than the usual 15 to 30 percent. Developers must also pay 0.50 euro Core Technology Fee to Apple, which can escalate depending on sales each month.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
I am still waiting for Epic and Spotify to allow me to sell games, in-app merch and music on their platforms with no percentage given to them. Well, maybe they can take 1%, but otherwise allow me to use their platforms to sell whatever I want.
Haha..good one!