Spotify Hits Back at Apple: ‘Every Monopolist Will Suggest They Have Done Nothing Wrong’

Spotify has labelled Apple a “monopolist” as the competition row between the music streaming service and the technology giant continues.

Taking exception to Spotify’s complaint with the European Union (EU) last week alleging iOS App Store rules to be unfair, Apple slammed Spotify for wanting “all the benefits of a free app without being free”. Spotify had earlier filed a complaint with the European Commission, claiming that Apple uses unfair practices in the App Store.

Now, according to a new report from Variety, Spotify said that “Apple’s response to our complaint before the European Commission is not new and is entirely in line with our expectations.”

“Every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong and will argue that they have the best interests of competitors and consumers at heart,” said the Swedish music streaming giant.

“We filed our complaint because Apple’s actions hurt competition and consumers, and are in clear violation of the law. This is evident in Apple’s belief that Spotify’s users on iOS are Apple customers and not Spotify customers, which goes to the very heart of the issue with Apple,” it added.



It’s clear that Apple isn’t going to take Spotify’s complaint lying down, and that it won’t just fight the battle in the court-room, but also in the media. Spotify, on its end, has created a website aptly named Time to Play Fair, which details out all of Apple’s alleged anti-competitive moves to keep Spotify at a disadvantage.

In its EU complaint, Spotify said that Apple had required all iPhone app makers to use the Apple payment system exclusively for the past eight years. Apple has introduced a 30 percent fee, applied to Spotify and all other digital content providers in the first year after users download their app, for using the payment system. Other apps, such as Uber and Deliveroo, are not subject to the fee, which drops to 15 percent after a year.

The European Commission is set to review the case in the coming weeks, potentially reigniting the public dispute.