Why This Matters

Every day that passes without new laws or rules of the road to stop companies like Apple, consumers have fewer choices. Without legal obligations that stop their harmful behavior, consumers will continue paying too much, many developers’ dreams will die on the vine under a 30% tax they can’t afford, and Apple’s well-developed monopoly will take an even stronger hold globally.

There is a lot at stake—this goes beyond music, beyond apps, beyond even the companies that exist today. This fight is about the future of the internet because the way we access the world’s information is through our phones.

When competition is fair, consumers and the economy win.

 

FAQ

  • What is Spotify trying to achieve?

    We want to be able to compete fairly and innovate speedily. Spotify – and all developers – deserve the ability to tell customers who choose to use iPhones how much things cost and when there are special deals for them. We deserve to link out to our website from our own app free of charge so customers can buy things how and when they want. We want to be able to offer them all the innovations our teams dream up. And we want to be able to take advantage of opportunities like sideloading, alternative app stores, and alternative in-app purchase systems, free of charge so we can reach our customers where they are, with the lower fees and better services that competitive stores bring.

  • Why should I care about this as a consumer?

    Apple’s fees and policies keep prices high and prevent us from communicating our newest features with you. For example, if we run a promotion that would’ve saved your family money, we can’t share that information with you in the app because Apple won’t let us.

  • Why don’t more consumers know about this problem?

    Apple’s unfair practices in the App Store have kept consumers in the dark. This isn’t a well-known issue, but thanks to new laws and proposed legislation in other countries, that is changing.