Subscribe through your iPhone’s App Store though, and you’ll pay $12.99 – for the exact same service. The Democrat from Minnesota expressed misgivings that the company’s recent launch of its Apple Music streaming service, coupled with its iOS software and its App Store, could pose unnecessary challenges for rivals and potentially limit choices and raise costs for consumers. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on Wednesday sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Federal Trade Commission chairwoman Edith Ramirez, asking them to review Apple’s policies for possible anti-competitive behavior.
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I really wanted it to work and become my default music streaming service, but after the problems I’ve experienced over the last couple of weeks, I’m disabling it altogether.
Franken added, “Increased competition in the music streaming market should mean that consumers will ultimately benefit through more choices of better products and at lower prices”. Outside developers are barred from informing consumers within their App pages that the same service can be purchased on their third-party websites, thereby cutting Apple out of the equation.
The group claimed it has information that Apple has been pressing three music labels to give it exclusive rights to artists’ content. Such arrangements could allow Apple greater power “to dominate the subscription music sector with whatever price it chooses”, according to its letter.
Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. The major difference between Apple Music and its competitors is how it’s bundled with iOS devices and Macs.
On 10 June, just two days after Apple’s unveiling of Apple Music, Spotify published a blog post to reveal that it now has 20 million paying subscribers, and 75 million active users in total, but that took nearly seven years to achieve.
At the heart of Franken’s concern is the so-called “Apple Tax”.
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Apple Music is the company’s attempt to carve out a part of the streaming music industry for itself and puts it in competition with the likes of Spotify and Pandora.
