Spotify criticizes new Apple services bundle on antitrust grounds
Spotify Technology criticized rival Apple Inc , saying that a new subscription bundle offer from the iPhone maker abuses its dominant market position by favoring its own Apple Music service.
Spotify said the Apple One bundle announced Tuesday disadvantages streaming music rivals. Spotify and Apple charge $10 a month for their streaming music service, but the Apple One package bundles it with other services such as television or video games that start at $15 per month.
“We call on competition authorities to act urgently to restrict Apple’s anti-competitive behavior, which if left unchecked, will cause irreparable harm to the developer community and threaten our collective freedoms to listen, learn, create, and connect,” the music streaming company said.
Spotify said the recently announced Apple One bundle disadvantages streaming music rivals. Sweden’s global number one music streamer Spotify is urging EU competition authorities to probe Apple’s One bundled subscription services as it steps up its antitrust criticisms of the US tech titan.
Spotify and Apple charge $10 a month for their streaming music service, but the Apple One package bundles it with other services such as television or video games that start at $15 per month.
Streaming music firm Spotify Technology SA on Tuesday criticized rival Apple Inc, saying that a new subscription bundle offer from the iPhone maker abuses its dominant market position by favoring its own Apple Music service.
Spotify said the Apple One bundle announced Tuesday disadvantages streaming music rivals. Spotify and Apple charge $10 a month for their streaming music service, but the Apple One package bundles it with other services such as television or video games that start at $15 per month.
“We call on competition authorities to act urgently to restrict Apple’s anti-competitive behavior, which if left unchecked, will cause irreparable harm to the developer community and threaten our collective freedoms to listen, learn, create, and connect,” the music streaming company said.
In a statement, Apple said the bundle was aimed at existing users of its services and that “customers can discover and enjoy alternatives to every one of Apples services.”
Apple Music is a music and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country, which broadcast live to over 200 countries 24 hours a day. The service was announced on June 8, 2015, and launched on June 30, 2015. New subscribers get a six-month free trial period before the service requires a monthly subscription.
Originally strictly a music service, Apple Music began expanding into video in 2016. Executive Jimmy Iovine has stated that the intention for the service is to become a “cultural platform”, and Apple reportedly wants the service to be a “one-stop shop for pop culture”. The company is actively investing heavily in the production and purchasing of video content, both in terms of music videos and concert footage that support music releases, as well as web series and feature films.
The original iOS version of Apple Music received mixed reviews, with criticism directed towards a user interface deemed “not intuitive”. However, it was praised for its playlist curation, a vast library of songs to stream, and its integration with other Apple devices and services. In iOS 10, the app received a significant redesign, which received positive reviews for an updated interface with less clutter, improved navigation, and a bigger emphasis on users’ libraries. Apple Music gained popularity rapidly after its launch, passing the milestone of 10 million subscribers in only six months. The service has 72 million subscribers around the world as of June 2020.
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