Spotify and Apple are fighting over App Store subscription rules

Spotify has sent a letter to Apple’s top lawyer accusing Apple of causing grave harm to Spotify subscribers who use Apple devices. Spotify is accusing Apple of using the App Store rules as a active measure against competing music streaming services. The letter followed Apple’s rejection of a Spotify App Update on the App Store. A report of the letter and the tiff was put up on ReCode.

The measures taken by Apple to suppress other music streaming services, are a violation of EU and US competition laws, according to Spotify. Copies of the letter were distributed to Congressional  workers in the US capital, Washington DC. This is just the latest in a series of vocal protests by Spotify in both US and EU against what it calls unfair App Store policies by Apple, giving preferrential treatment to Apple’s own Apple Music service.

Apple does not allow apps to bill subscriptions independently from the store, as Google does, from within the app. It however, does not require the apps to use its own billing service, that charges a 30% cut every month. Apple does allow apps to process subscriptions on other devices, such as a laptop, but does not allow the promotion of such offers to iOS users.

Apple is in talks to buy Tidal , and there is a way and is incentivising subscriptions for developers.