With the European Fee set to rule on Spotify’s grievance centered on competitors within the streaming music market, there are hints that the ruling is not going to be in Apple’s favor. This week, the Monetary Instances reported the EC will difficulty its first-ever effective in opposition to the tech large for allegedly breaking EU regulation over competitors within the streaming music market. The effective is predicted to be round €500 million (about $539 million USD), the report famous.

As an alternative of chalking up the effective as the price of doing enterprise, as an organization that made historical past because the first to be valued at $3 trillion certainly may, the tech large is taking the combat to the general public.

In an announcement shared with media immediately, Apple argued in opposition to the concept Spotify has been harmed by any anticompetitive practices on its half. (The assertion was not issued by a single spokesperson, however moderately comes from Apple itself). It reads:

“We’re comfortable to help the success of all builders — together with Spotify, which is the biggest music streaming app on the earth. Spotify pays Apple nothing for the companies which have helped them construct, replace, and share their app with Apple customers in 160 nations spanning the globe. Basically, their grievance is about attempting to get limitless entry to all of Apple’s instruments with out paying something for the worth Apple gives.”

Apple identified additionally that Spotify has a 56% share of the market, in contrast with 20% for Amazon Music and Apple Music’s 11%, per MIDiA’s 2022 report on the subscription music market.

As well as, Apple shared quite a few personal particulars about Spotify’s enterprise, because it pertains to Apple’s platforms, together with, for instance, that Spotify makes use of hundreds of Apple’s APIs throughout 60 frameworks; that Spotify makes use of Apple’s beta testing platform TestFlight; that Spotify has submitted over 420 variations of its app to App Overview, which had been accepted; and even that Apple engineers have helped Spotify resolve varied challenges, like these impacting hardware-accelerated media playback and battery optimization.

And, for these quantity watchers on the market, Apple additionally mentioned that Spotify’s app had been downloaded, re-downloaded, or up to date greater than 119 billion instances throughout Apple units — a stat we had not heard earlier than, we should always be aware.

The truth that Apple is front-running the EC’s resolution with its personal commentary is exceptional, in and of itself.

It speaks to an organization that so solidly believes that it’s doing the very best factor for its personal prospects and developer companions that any kind of ruling that deems in any other case is so absurd that it calls for remark and pushback. Apple believes its system of in-app purchases for issues like music subscriptions saves customers not solely the headache and inconvenience of getting to go to exterior web sites on the iPhone’s small display — they’ll simply click on the aspect button as an alternative — but additionally protects in opposition to fraud, extra knowledge assortment, client confusion over cancellations, and errant purchases by kids. (In fact, Apple is acquainted with the latter itself.)

Apple believes that Spotify solely desires to extend its earnings, by leveraging laws to its benefit. Within the case of the EU grievance, the priority is that Apple’s App Retailer distorts completion within the music streaming market. It’s not solely a grievance that Spotify has been harmed, in different phrases, however that the character of the App Retailer might have thwarted different rivals.

“Spotify is a giant participant within the music streaming market however we don’t know what would have been the circumstances with out this,” EVP and competitors chief Margrethe Vestager mentioned in regards to the EC’s investigation again in 2021. “There are different rivals to Apple Music — there are Deezer, there are Soundcloud. Smaller opponents and right here we’ve got actual considerations about their developments. This isn’t a Spotify case — this can be a music streaming case,” she famous.

Spotify, nevertheless, has been the loudest of the Apple Music rivals and has fought in opposition to the corporate on different issues, for example by calling Apple’s new DMA guidelines “extortion” and a “full and complete farce.”

To guard its pursuits (and, Apple argues, customers), Apple’s response to the EU’s DMA (Digital Markets Act) regulation is the introduction of a brand new system that requires builders to pay for its companies past simply App Retailer cost processing. Fairly, it now separates cost processing from different companies by levying a “Core Expertise Price” for these builders who need to do enterprise below the brand new DMA guidelines. In different phrases, it desires builders to pay Apple for the work it does to create and preserve its iOS platform, the place apps can run, moderately than acknowledging that entry to customers’ favourite apps helps promote its iPhones.

For the document, Apple disputes Spotify’s claims that it’s been harmed by any anticompetitive practices. It speaks to the success Spotify has seen through the years, having grown its streaming app over 8 years from 25 million to 160 million subscribers — a 27% common development charge. It factors out that Spotify customers often subscribe to the service exterior its app, and that Spotify qualifies for the “Reader app” exception to Apple’s guidelines, which permits it to hyperlink on to its web site for account creation and cost, just like Netflix.

Nonetheless, Apple appears to disregard the truth that Spotify turning a quarterly revenue nonetheless makes headlines, that it simply laid off 17% of its workforce, and that, you understand, Spotify does face competitors on iOS globally from Apple Music, which is preinstalled on iPhones, iPads and different Apple units. Along with being provided as a standalone service, Apple’s music streaming app is upsold to prospects as half of the Apple One bundles, which mix a number of Apple companies, like iCloud+, Information+, Apple TV+, and others, below one roof.

Apple additionally stresses how intently Spotify has labored with the Fee on its grievance, having met with the regulators greater than 65 instances for the reason that investigation started. The investigation, nevertheless, has been ongoing for years.

A rep for the EC declined to touch upon information associated to Spotify’s grievance or any pending fines. The FT had reported the effective is predicted to be introduced early subsequent month.

Spotify was requested for remark however didn’t have an instantaneous response. We count on one might be forthcoming, nevertheless, and can replace if supplied.

Extra reporting: Natasha Lomas