Spotify Calls Apple's Plan To Comply With EU DMA Regulation A 'Farce'

Spotify said that Apple has never liked the idea of abiding by the DMA hence it has formulated an undesirable alternative to the status quo.

Apple is gearing up to unveil new policy adjustments aligning with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe, meanwhile, music streaming platform Spotify termed it as "a complete and total farce." From March, developers will be able to offer alternative app stores on iPhone and opt out of using Apple's in-app payment system. However, developers will still need to pay a 'core technology fee' of 50 Euro (roughly Rs. 4,500) per user account per year under Apple's new EU regime.

News agency Reuters quoted the music streaming giant saying, "From the beginning, Apple has been clear that they didn't like the idea of abiding by the DMA. So they've formulated an undesirable alternative to the status quo."

Spotify added that it would still need to pay a 17 per cent commission if it wished to stay in the App Store. 

While responding to this, Apple in an email to Reuters stated, "Every developer can choose to stay on the same terms in place today. And under the new terms, more than 99 per cent of developers would pay the same or less to Apple."

Apple's New Policies & Fees Aligned With DMA

The changes that are being introduced will allow iPhone app sideloading, in a bid to reduce Apple’s monopolistic control of software on iOS. This came as a response to the European law which involves segregating the ‌App Store‌ in the European Union from its global counterpart in order to meet the new legal requirements. 

Apple plans to add new fees and restrictions to allow people to download apps outside of the iPhone's closed ecosystem, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

In the US, currently, the iPhone maker is asking developers to pay a 27 per cent commission for external links to alternative payment systems. This was in contrast to the initial expectation of some developers who believed that they could avoid Apple's 30 per cent commission by not utilising 'In-App Purchase'.

Once these new policies are implemented in the EU, Apple will have two versions of the App Store - one for the EU and the other for the global markets. The deadline for the iPhone maker to adhere to the DMA is March 7.