Apple Hits Back at Spotify: You’re “Asking for Preferential Treatment”

On June 29, Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Apple Music as an example of concentrated corporate power that can reduce competition. A Spotify spokesperson echoed her concerns, saying, “You know there’s something wrong when Apple makes more off a Spotify subscription than it does off an Apple Music subscription and doesn’t share any of that with the music industry.” On June 30, news broke that Spotify had sent Apple a letter accusing them of using “the App Store approval process as a weapon to harm competitors.” Today, Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell wrote his own letter in response to Spotify general counsel Horacio Gutierrez, disagreeing with Spotify’s claims, Buzzfeed reports. “We find it troubling that you are asking for exemptions to the rules we apply to all developers and are publicly resorting to rumors and half-truths about our service,” Sewell wrote.

Sewell denied Spotify’s assertion that Apple rejected a recent update to Spotify’s iOS app as a way of stifling a streaming-music rival. “Our guidelines apply equally to all app developers, whether they are game developers, e-book sellers, video-streaming services or digital music distributors; and regardless of whether or not they compete against Apple,” Sewell wrote. “We did not alter our behavior or our rules when we introduced our own music streaming service or when Spotify became a competitor. Ironically, it is now Spotify that wants things to be different by asking for preferential treatment from Apple.” The full text of the letter can be found at Buzzfeed.

An Apple spokesperson has confirmed to Pitchfork that the letter is accurate but declined to comment further. Pitchfork has reached out to Spotify for comment.

Revisit “Up Next: How Playlists Are Curating the Future of Music,” our exploration of music-discovery tools from Apple, Spotify, and others.

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