Have Apple and Amazon truly abused “their advantaged position?” Spotify and Deezer believe so.
Just last month, Spotify Deezer, SoundCloud, and other platforms teamed up to form a powerful lobbying group. Underscoring the power of music streaming in the industry, they dubbed the alliance the Digital Music Europe (DME).
According to a press release, DME would “showcase and promote the success of the European digital music industry.” It would also serve as a “resource for policy-makers, media, and the digital music industry.”
Now, Digital Music Europe has taken aim at other major companies, specifically large US tech companies.
The Financial Times reported earlier today that Spotify and Deezer have penned a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.
According to Spotify and Deezer, Amazon and Apple unfairly harm smaller companies that “rely on their services.” Along with other “big US tech companies,” Amazon and Apple “regularly abuse their advantaged position.” Spotify, Deezer, and smaller digital platforms called on Brussels to “ensure a level playing field.”
Citing one example, Apple takes a 30% cut of Spotify’s subscription fee when users purchase a Premium subscription through the App Store. The European-based digital platforms complained that on the App Store and on Amazon, they remain at a strong disadvantage. The Cupertino-based company also doesn’t provide any platform “full access to user data.”
The complaint comes as the European Commission prepares to rule on how tech companies engage with app developers and other vendors. New proposals will reportedly “set out clearer guidelines on how the groups communicate changes to their terms and conditions.”
Earlier this year, the commission fined Google €2.4 billion for “unfairly favoring its own shopping service.” Rivals, including Foundem and TripAdvisor, had lodged a complaint to the commission. In a recent letter, Foundem urged the commission to create “clear and enforceable obligations that are a deterrent and prevent unfair businesses practices by platform.”
Featured image by Spotify
they are starting to cry realising how much better is the competition.
LMAO. Spotify is crying in the corner while Deezer pats them on the back , trying to cheer spotify up.
Spotify’s NYC offices are more expensive than 1 year of Tidal’s losses.
The government will have to at some point protect music business and musicians from ALL INCLUSIVE ALMOST FREE DISCOVERY INFUSED STREAMING and YouTube style ad supported jukeboxes!
$300B of music goodwill is being converted to at best $30B of subs and ads in 2030
Streaming services only starting to realize its gonna be tough to ever make money…. even with 100m paying subs.
Subscription streaming was invented by BBC in 1927 !
It is MANDATORY to this date to every household in most of the European countries. Prices are in many countries much higher that avg. Spotify.
Contribution to music industry or musicians: ZERO
Time to lock music in VIRTUAL WALLS and make music merchandise again!
Play the best you can for particular folks – ad and sub free- and charge for addition to personal playlist.
I wouldn’t compare ‘subscription’ to national public broadcaster with Spotify subscription. The former is basically a tax, every household with a TV has to pay it and because of that there are less commercials on public broadcaster’s TV and radio channels. And the program is of higher quality.
I highly doubt Apple would be in this business if it didn’t help its bottom line. Maybe Apple Music loses money, but the boost it provides to the sales of watches, airpods, homepods, etc. probably covers these losses and some. Just like Iovine mentioned recently, Spotify needs to start selling something else to be a viable business. Even if/when they hit profitability, their margins will remain tight. Shareholders will want more at some point, especially with the valuations that are being thrown around.
The government should protect Musicians and Federal Copyright Law from Apple, Google and Spotify. But they didn’t, so the corporate criminals wrote their own laws while the government sat by, watched and did nothing.
Amazon is trying (and succeeding) in taking over everything in it’s path. Yet the government sits by and does nothing, no anti-trust suit.
Amazon is micro managing any product activity over $5M/year.
Funneling business to themself by forcing other suppliers to stay at MAP will priming the goods at 20% below everyone!
(Minimum Advertised Price introduced by US Supreme Court in November 2011 at the request of corporate America)
They do kill any success with me too activity and take over any leftovers of bigger players.
Try out MusConv to convert your music and playlists into different music platforms. It’s easy-to-use and I’d highly recommend it