Spotify has condemned Apple’s revised DMA (Digital Markets Act) compliance plan, branding it as “confusing” and suggesting it is “illegal”.

Apple proposed a new policy on 8 August, in which the tech company added two new commission-like fees for developers on purchases completed by users of iOS apps via link outs to external websites.

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As reported by TechCrunch, the European Union’s Digital Markets Act rules have forced Apple to give iOS developers more freedom over how they can distribute and promote their content on its mobile platform since March. Apple has already been put under investigation by the European Commission for suspected noncompliance with the DMA.

As explained by the publication, developers who had released apps on the App Store couldn’t formerly advertise different prices or alternative distribution channels in their apps. Though Apple now allows developers to include a link to their site, the European Commission believed Apple was imposing too many restrictions, resulting in a third non-compliance investigation into its contractual terms for EU developers.

Under Apple’s new proposed policy, it adds two key new fees – an “Initial Acquisition Fee” and a “Store Services Fee.” The Initial Acquisition Fee is explained as “a commission of sorts for connecting users with the app through the App Store that applies during the first 12 months” by TechCrunch. The Store Services Fee is said to help fund Apple’s App Store operations.

However, Apple is now giving developers more flexibility around how they can communicate external offers to their users and the types of offers they can promote through iOS apps. Developers will also be able to inform users about offers available anywhere, not just their own websites.

In a statement shared to MusicTech from Spotify, the streaming platform says of Apple’s plans, “We are currently assessing Apple’s deliberately confusing proposal. At first glance, by demanding as much as a 25% fee for basic communication with users, Apple once again blatantly disregards the fundamental requirements of the Digital Markets Act.

“The European Commission has made it clear that imposing recurring fees on basic elements like pricing and linking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to expedite its investigation, implement daily fines and enforce the DMA.”

Fortnite owner Epic Games has joined Spotify in condemning Apple’s revised DMA compliance plan, with its CEO Tim Sweeney saying: “Apple continues its malicious compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users migrating to competing stores.”

In the European Union where the new DMA law opens up app store competition, Apple continues its malicious compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users migrating to competing stores and monitor commerce on these competing stores.https://t.co/YUYwsnrh32 pic.twitter.com/xAWGkOWPrH

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 8, 2024

It is not yet clear if the European Commission will accept Apple’s proposal. MusicTech has reached out to Apple for comment.

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