Apple has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in four European countries, filed by Euroconsumers – one of the largest consumer advocacy groups in the European Union. According to the files, Apple is responsible for making music streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music more expensive.
The lawsuit states that companies have to pay 30% to be listed in the App Store, and to cut their losses, they pass this cost on to their customers.
Euroconsumers alleged that each iOS customer would have to pay up to €3 more to cover the lost revenue. According to the group, Apple made approximately €259 million in “unfair profits by overcharging consumers through its non-Apple Music services.” The lawsuit seeks “to recover overpayments for more than 500,000 victims in Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal.”
Apple Music doesn’t pay a 30% service fee, but it should be emphasized that other companies are not obligated to raise their fees to operate there. They simply pass the fee on, but they still claim that Apple is taking more than it is.
After Apple changed the App Store payout structure, the US company now only keeps 15% for every new subscription that runs for more than a year, instead of the general 30% that Spotify previously claimed.
The full list of platforms affected includes Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, Tidal and Qobuz.