Apple's New App Store Modifications are a New Low: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek

The number of CEOs dissatisfied with Apple’s new app distribution guidelines just keeps rising.

Daniel Ek, the CEO of Spotify, stated in a Friday X post that Apple’s modifications mark a “new low, even for them.” This happened after the iPhone manufacturer was criticized by Spotify in a statement for acting as though “they don’t think the rules apply to them.”

I wanted to express my opinions after spending some time with our legal team going over the fine text of Apple’s DMA announcement, which is, at best, ambiguous and deceptive.

Even though Apple has acted horribly for years, yesterday’s actions mark a new low for them.

When iOS 17.4 is released, Apple has indicated that developers will be able to create and distribute apps on third-party markets for the first time. Only the EU will be affected by the changes, as Apple was compelled to abide by the Digital Markets Act, a European regulation designed to lessen the dominance of tech companies in the digital economy.

While new distribution channels may seem like a win for app developers, many are upset that Apple will still have control over which third-party markets are added to its system and would still impose fees for downloads from those other marketplaces.

“A masterclass in distortion”

In response to the Digital Markets Act, Ek called Apple’s actions “a masterclass in distortion.”

Apple has announced that apps that have received one million downloads or more would have to pay a “core technology fee” for “each first annual install per year.” This puts an app like Spotify in a “untenable situation” because it significantly raises the expense of attracting new users. According to Ek, the app has over 100 million downloads in the EU