In recent years, there have been price increases at all the major players in Music streaming: Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music… While at first glance, one might think that this is linked to contracts with record companies or even inflation, it would ultimately be Apple that is mainly responsible. Here is the accusation of a European consumer protection group!
Apple’s famous 30% commission is the cause
A group of European consumers, under the name Euroconsumer, recently filed a class action against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of being behind the price increases observed on music streaming services for more than a year. This action is being carried out in a coordinated manner in Belgium, Spain, Italy and Portugal, and aims to defend the interests of more than 500,000 consumers affected by these increases.
According to Euroconsumer, Apple takes a 30% commission on each transaction made via its App Store, an amount that streaming services can no longer absorb. Platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, YouTube Music are forced to pass on this loss of revenue to their subscribers, which increases the prices on subscriptions via iOS applications.
Euroconsumer claims that Apple has thus raked in €259 million in “unfair profits” in Europe, a sum considered to be directly linked to this 30% commission deemed excessive. Euroconsumer’s action therefore aims to recover the sums collected by Apple and wishes to redistribute them for consumers.
Will this class action reach Apple? It is not certain, but what is certain is that it highlights the growing tension between companies and their users, for whom the constant increase in prices is becoming a burden that is difficult to bear.
