Wired - Apple Fined $2 Billion as Europe Sides With Spotify

OMI Europe director Max von Thun was quoted for speaking on a $2 billion fine the European Commission slapped on Apple for unfair practices within its app store.

“This is the commission saying, ‘We're going to be tough, particularly on Apple,’” he said. “I see this as kind of small compared to what's to come.”

Apple has a Spotify problem—and it just cost the iPhone maker a $2 billion fine from the European Commission.

For years, the two companies have been at war as the streaming service lured users away from Apple’s iTunes and accused the tech giant of exploiting its dominance to stifle innovation. In their long-running conflict, each has made incursions into the other’s territory. When Apple launched its own streaming service, Apple Music, in 2015, Spotify claimed Apple was able to undercut the platform’s prices because Apple didn’t have to pay the same App Store fees as rivals. In 2019, Spotify began an ambitious podcast spending spree, splashing out on high-profile shows, in another direct challenge to Apple.

The feud’s early days were civil, with few barbs traded in public. “We worry about the humanity being drained out of music,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in 2018, a cryptic comment widely interpreted as a jibe at Spotify’s heavy use of algorithmic recommendations. But Spotify became more outspoken as EU politicians started to call for laws to reign in Big Tech. The €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) fine on Apple announced by the European Commission today shows that its tactics are working.

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