Elon Musk Chimes In As Spotify CEO Alleges Apple Continues To 'Disadvantage Competitors'

Spotify Technology S.A. SPOT founder and CEO Daniel Ek slammed Apple Inc. AAPL on Tuesday for allegedly continuing to "disadvantage competitors."

What Happened: Ek quote-tweeted a New York Times report that delved into Apple’s rejection of the Spotify app three times in the past month on the pretext of the music streaming service’s new audiobooks breaking the Cupertino-based company's rules regarding how developers can communicate with customers about online purchases.

See Also: How To Buy Spotify (SPOT) Stock

Apple continues to disadvantage competitors, and the impact is huge - on consumers, app developers, and now, authors and publishers. Without policymakers taking action, nothing will change. I can’t be the only one who sees the absurdity https://t.co/tFZhWrHPsn

— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) October 25, 2022

Spotify, meanwhile, said in a blog post, “With our Audiobooks launch, Apple has once again proven just how brazen it is willing to be with its App Store rules, constantly shifting the goalposts to disadvantage their competitors.”

Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk too chimed in.

Concerning

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022

Why It’s Important: Spotify has long been at loggerheads with Apple over the 30% commission the latter charges apps for selling their products and services on the App Store and the rules Cupertino imposes on these apps.

In order to adhere to Apple’s rules, Spotify reportedly included a legal team in the product development process and even hired a startup founder with a law degree to lead its Audiobooks business. Apple, however, took exception to Spotify providing web addresses and language encouraging customers to make purchases outside of its app, the NYT report said.

Apple argued that the distribution it provides across its massive installed device base helps apps to succeed and routing payments through its system protects users from fraud and keeps the App Store safer for use, added the report.

Price Action: Spotify closed Tuesday's session down 2.52% at $97.05 but declined 6.69% to $90.56 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Also: Apple Hikes Music, TV+ Subscription Prices — How It Now Stacks Up Against Rivals Spotify, Netflix, Disney

Photo: Courtesy of magnus hoij via Wikimedia