Streaming music service Deezer, along with Spotify, is rooting for a €1.84 billion EU fine imposed on Apple for antitrust violations in the streaming music market. However, the company has called on the European Commission to assess Apple's response to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), calling it “deceptive” and an “attempt to circumvent European regulation”. .
In a statement released today, Deezer CEO Jeronimo Folgueira only cautiously praised the fine, saying, “The EU is taking action against Apple and firmly halting its anti-competitive behavior.'' “It is very positive that they have shown that they are prepared to impose sanctions.”
However, streaming music executives also said they would reconsider Apple's DMA terms in light of this new fine to make clear that what Apple has proposed is not enough to comply with the new regulations. requested the EU Commission to do so.
Apple's new DMA rules, introduced in January, are a complex measure that provides a path for app developers to distribute their apps from alternative app marketplaces. With changes to Apple's rules and fee structure, the company has introduced new terms and conditions for developers who choose to move outside of Apple's own App Store. If the developer agrees to his DMA terms, he will have to pay a new “core technology fee” and he will be charged 0.50 euros for each first annual app install above the 1 million threshold. Rather than leveling the playing field for developers, as the DMA intended, the fee will allow Apple to continue leveraging the revenue of large companies operating outside of the App Store.
Deezer is one of the developers who drafted an open letter to the EC last week, claiming that Apple was “making a mockery” of the DMA. Other signatories include Epic Games, 37signals, Proton, Spotify and more, who jointly urged the EC to take “swift, timely and decisive action against Apple” to protect developers. I asked for it.
The streaming company reiterated its complaints in its blog post, which has been updated to comment on the new fines, saying Apple's DMA rules are “an attempt to circumvent new regulations by using alternatives to current business language.” He said that. Apple has lowered its fees but introduced a new fee, the Core Technology Fee, which it says is “excessive” and “cost-prohibitive to grow your app business profitably.” are doing.
As a result, Deezer said it sees no benefit in switching to Apple's DMA rules.
Few developers have publicly said they would switch to Apple's new terms.
So far, the only information we have is from MacPaw, the maker of app subscription service Setapp, which announced last week that it was switching to Apple's DMA terms. Today, Germany-based mobivention announced that it is also introducing an alternative app marketplace for B2B and B2C iOS apps. However, major developers such as Spotify and Epic Games, as well as tech companies such as Meta, Mozilla and Microsoft, have criticized Apple's new rules.