There's more bad blood between Spotify and Apple than you'd find in a Taylor Swift song, and in the latest installment of the battle for the best music streaming service, Spotify accuses Apple of even more bad behavior. Even though Apple incurred a whopping $2 billion fine from European regulators for its restrictions on third-party streaming apps, Spotify says Apple is still trying to “circumvent and/or not comply with the decision.” of the Commission”.
According to The Verge, Spotify's anger is due to the latest update to its app, which it sent to Apple on March 5 and has not yet been approved. The update includes changes that Spotify says the EU allows it to make, including direct links to Spotify's website and information about pricing options that don't require customers to use Apple's payment system.
Apple's own filing with the EU, appealing the latest decision, included a small own goal. While it has now been ten days since Spotify introduced its app with no response, Apple told the EU that “our app review team has reviewed and approved 421 versions of the Spotify app, typically with same-day delivery.”
So what is going on?
War! Hey! What is it for?
According to Spotify, Apple is deliberately delaying approval of the app, and that delay goes against the EU ruling. For the streamer, “Spotify is concerned that Apple's delay is intentional and aims to delay or avoid compliance altogether,” he reportedly wrote in an email to the European Commission. The Verge asked Apple for a response and so far they have not responded.
It is important to look at this in the broader context of the four-year legal battle between the two companies. Spotify isn't calling the manager because it thinks Apple is being slow, but rather it's strongly implying that Apple is using a malicious compliance tactic. That is when one abides by the letter but not the spirit of the legislation. For example, responding to a ruling that tells you to stop demanding a 30% cut through your App Store and instead demand a cut of up to 27% on sales outside the App Store. Or when app updates that normally process the same day suddenly start taking 10 days and counting.
This particular battle is not the same one that forces Apple to allow side loading of iOS apps in Europe, but it is part of the same war, a war that is also being fought between Apple and Electronic Arts. Apple wants to preserve a walled garden and make a big chunk of the revenue from the apps it contains, while app creators would really prefer Apple not to, and so far it seems like the EU is very much on the developers' side. not Apple's.
