{"id":1871,"date":"2016-08-04T04:54:47","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T04:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanickilawyers.com.au\/?p=1871"},"modified":"2016-08-04T04:54:47","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T04:54:47","slug":"why-apple-might-be-playing-dirty-in-the-war-against-spotify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanickilawyers.com.au\/why-apple-might-be-playing-dirty-in-the-war-against-spotify\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Apple might be playing dirty in the war against Spotify"},"content":{"rendered":"

Competition is hardly ever a negative for the consumer. If we relied on a single company to provide us with services, then the potential for unfair business practices would skyrocket. However, in the world of streaming music, this has become a significant concern from companies and consumers alike.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In June this year Apple refused to update competitor Spotify\u2019s app on their mobile App Store, citing their own business rules. If Apple had their own way, Spotify would be forced to use Apple\u2019s own billing service when customers subscribe to their \u2018Premium\u2019 service. Sound fair enough? Well the issue here is that Apple isn\u2019t just concerned about its app store. The entertainment giant has its own streaming service \u2018Apple Music\u2019 that would love to have its subscriber base of 15 million bolstered by consumers jumping ship from Spotify\u2019s gargantuan base of 100 million users, with 30 million of those paying monthly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So from this perspective, it appears that Apple isn\u2019t just attempting to make Spotify follow simple rules. According to Recode<\/a>, \u201cApple doesn\u2019t require subscription services to use its iTunes billing service, but it doesn\u2019t allow them to use an alternate payment system within the app, as Google does. Apple charges a monthly fee of up to 30 percent for those that do use its billing system.\u201d Spotify passes this fee onto their consumers by charging more for the service, but has become increasingly vocal about its desire for new subscribers to sign up on their own site and avoid the extra fee. Since iPhone users can\u2019t access a download of the app from anywhere other than the Apple App Store, a potential decision by Apple to remove it from the store would be a harmful business decision, along with a likely huge PR disaster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spotify\u2019s general counsel Horatio Gutierrez officially stated that the demand by Apple \u201ccontinues a troubling pattern of behavior by Apple to exclude and diminish the competitiveness of Spotify on iOS and as a rival to Apple Music, particularly when seen against the backdrop of Apple\u2019s previous anti-competitive conduct aimed at Spotify \u2026 we cannot stand by as Apple uses the App Store approval process as a weapon to harm competitors\u201d.\u00a0 Senator Elizabeth Warren also slammed companies like Google and Apple\u2019s practices, particularly citing Apple\u2019s tendency to place \u201cconditions on its rivals that make it difficult for them to offer [a] competitive streaming service\u201d. This type of practice would likely fall under an element of \u2018unconscionable conduct\u2019, which is prohibited under Australian law. Unconscionable conduct comprises of an activity that \u201cmust be more than simply unfair\u2014it must be against conscience as judged against the norms of society.\u201d Restricting competition for an underlying desire to reduce\/poach their consumer base such as Apple has allegedly attempted would likely fall under this definition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In such a new world of easily accessible digital streaming, it would appear that even in legal avenues, the music industry is not out of the convoluted woods yet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Article written by Jonty Simmons<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Competition is hardly ever a negative for the consumer. If we relied on a single company to provide us with services, then the potential for unfair business practices would skyrocket. However, in the world of streaming music, this has become a significant concern from companies and consumers alike.   In June this year Apple refused … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-entertainment","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Apple might be playing dirty in the war against Spotify - Sanicki Lawyers Melbourne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Apple might be playing dirty in the war against Spotify - Sanicki Lawyers Melbourne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Competition is hardly ever a negative for the consumer. 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