Spotify and Apple are about to lock horns again as it turns out that Apple has rejected Spotify’s latest update to its app in late May, citing business model issues.
This new round of disagreement between Apple and Spotify first began when Spotify turned off billing within the Spotify iOS app altogether, cutting off the free users’ ability to upgrade and even shutting off existing premium mobile users’ payments, focing online upgrades. This move cuts off Apple’s full source of revenue from the Spotify service. In what is presumed to be retaliation, Apple has blocked a new version of Spotify’s app on the App Store.
Spotify’s general counsel Horacio Gutierrez has since sent a letter to Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell over the move, saying that Apple’s actions is “causing grave harm to Spotify and its customers” by doing so. The letter further states that Apple turned down a new version of the app while citing “business model rules” and demanded that Spotify use Apple’s billing system if “Spotify wants to use the app to acquire new customers and sell subscriptions.” Simply put, Spotify believes that Apple is leveraging the App Store to push its own Apple Music platform at the expense of Spotify.
Apple has yet to respond to Spotify’s allegations, but seeing as neither party would be backing down in this case, you can fully expect to see both Apple and Spotify heading to the courts to settle this dispute.
Source: Recode, TechCrunch