Daniel Ek may have emerged triumphant from his five-year long battle with Apple, but you wouldn’t notice it from the Spotify founder’s grim demeanor.
On Monday, the EU Commission fined Apple $1.84 billion for abusing its dominance in music streaming apps.
If the tech giant’s recent anti-competitive behavior was anything to go by, however, Ek believes the world’s second most valuable company has little intention of giving up its walled garden: the iOS ecosystem with its flagship App Store that has minted billions in annual profits.
“The internet is at risk,” Ek said in a video statement he posted on Monday, sounding like someone who had lost his case, not won it. “Apple has decided that they want to close down the internet and make it theirs.”
The @EU_Commission finally ruled against Apple today. A lot of you have been asking for my take on what this means and what will – and won’t – change. I made a video with my thoughts including why this is a good first step, but also why there’s still more to be done. pic.twitter.com/pdICn2Jq6S
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) March 4, 2024
The Spotify CEO predicted Apple would either ignore the ruling, much like it has in similar cases in Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands, or comply in letter but not in spirit.
That’s because Apple knows that most of the people accessing the internet are doing so through apps downloaded to smartphones, a revenue opportunity it does not want to pass up. (Apple does not publish data on its share of App Store turnover, just aggregated figures paid to developers.)
“Even though today may seem like a great win, it might actually just be a very small step in the right direction,” Ek said.
Fortune has contacted Apple for a response to the Spotify chief’s comments.
Ek’s video message comes after EU Vice President Margrethe Vestager said Apple’s refusal to inform consumers of cheaper options amounted to anti-steering provisions that violated European antitrust law.
“Apple’s conduct, which lasted for almost 10 years, may have led many iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions, because of the high commission fee imposed by Apple on developers and passed on to consumers,” the Commission said.
EU failed to prove harm, Apple counters
Apple shot back on Monday by arguing Brussels levied the fine despite a “failure to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm.”
Ek’s company in reality was the true dominant player, according to Apple, controlling over half the European streaming market.
This position it enjoys largely thanks to the App Store, Apple said, since its share is higher on iOS than on Android. For that benefit, the Swedish company pays Apple nothing.
Instead, Spotify lobbied heavily against it, meeting more than 65 times with the Commission during the investigation in the hopes of utilizing Apple’s proprietary tools, technologies and distribution system at no added cost.
“Free isn’t enough for Spotify,” Apple responded. “They also want to rewrite the rules of the App Store—in a way that advantages them even more.”
