Spotify CEO unhappy with Apple’s new App Store rules change, says they will push for a ‘real solution’

Recently, Apple has announced some changes to the rules enforced in the App Store for some apps, and now, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has something to say about these changes, reports 9to5Mac. Spotify’s founder and CEO has taken to Twitter to share his opinion on the matter.

Spotify CEO says the new App Store changes don’t solve the problem

Last week, Apple announced it is going to allow reader apps to include a single in-app link to their own websites allowing users to sign-up and manage their accounts. Potentially, this could allow users to also execute payments that would bypass Apple’s App Store 30% fee, although this was not specifically mentioned by Apple. Now, Spotify’s CEO and founder Daniel Ek has stated that these steps are in the right direction, but they don’t solve the problem.He added that developers want clear rules for the App Store, and rules that apply to all apps. He stated that the goal is to create a healthy competition once and for all, and he also added a real solution to the issue at hand is needed.

This isn’t the first time Spotify’s developers are expressing their discontent with Apple’s App Store policy. Spotify is a founding member of the Coalition for App fairness along with Epic Games, and it has testified to Congress on multiple occasions. Epic Games, as many of you may have probably heard by now, was the game maker company that first rebelled against the 30% fee Apple takes on purchases from the App Store.

The main complaint Spotify has against Apple is that it doesn’t let iPhone and iPad users know that they can sign up for Spotify for less money directly through its own website instead of using in-app purchases.

The change in the rules that Apple announced last week affects the “reader” apps, but Cupertino has emphasized that this includes apps that offer content subscriptions for digital magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video. The change is a welcome opportunity for developers and opens up options; however, it is still unclear how these guidelines will look and how they will be enforced.

Chart created by Spotify’s Horacio Gutierrez

Spotify’s chief legal officer, Horacio Gutierrez posted the above chart on Twitter, giving a visual look at how these new rules looked like. The chart includes an asterisk next to “Forbids restrictions of communication by developers to their users inside or outside of the app” and he adds “Narrow scope / Not applicable to all apps”.

How it all started

Back in 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Apple from small businesses in the US that was going against some of Apple’s App Store guidelines. But most people probably know about the issue when the maker of the game Fortnite, Epic Games, stood against Apple and challenged the Cupertino giant. Epic Games tweaked the code of the game Fortnite to include a link to a direct payment in an attempt to bypass Apple’s 30% fee on purchases.This decision was obviously against the App Store rules and not long after, Epic Games was greeted with a warning to fix things. When Epic refused, the Fortnite game was removed from the App Store and the developer account of the game maker was subsequently disabled. That had Epic file a lawsuit (which is still ongoing), accusing Apple of an unfair 30% fee on purchases.

Spotify and Epic Games have founded an organization called the Coalition of App Fairness, which now has many members, that is fighting against unfair competition in app stores. The Coalition of App Fairness website claims that every app developer, regardless of size or the nature of their business, should be able to compete in a fair marketplace.