money Elon Musk says Apple's battle with Spotify is 'concerning' and its new 30% charge on social-media ad revenue 'is a lot'
Elon Musk tweeted in response to a post by Spotify's CEO about how Apple handles competitors.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO suggested Apple's approach was "concerning."
Apple and Spotify have long feuded over rules on the App Store.
Elon Musk has spoken out about Apple's new rules and its impact on Spotify after the music-streaming app's earnings went live on Tuesday.
The billionaire was responding to The New York Times' article published on Tuesday, which Spotify CEO Daniel Ek shared on Twitter. The report said Apple rejected Spotify's app from the App Store three times in one month, claiming its audiobooks feature broke the rules around app developers communicating with users about online purchasing.
Ek wrote in the Twitter post that Apple is still putting competitors at a disadvantage, which he said had a huge impact on app developers, consumers, publishers, and authors.
"Without policymakers taking action, nothing will change. I can't be the only one who sees the absurdity," Ek said.
Musk replied to Ek's post with a tweet saying: "Concerning."
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who recently offered to buy Twitter again, also responded to another post about Apple updating its payment guidelines to say social-media platforms, such as Instagram, which allow promoted and paid boosts to media posts, are subject to Apple's policy of a 30% revenue cut for in-app purchases.
"30% is a lot," Musk tweeted.
Apple requires apps on its App Store, which sell content like shows or books, to use Apple's payment system for any in-app purchases, on which it imposes the 30% tax.
In a statement to Insider, Apple said: "The Spotify app was rejected for not following the guidelines regarding including explicit in-app communications to direct users outside the app to make digital purchases. We provided them with clear guidance on how to resolve the issue, and approved their app after they made changes that brought it into compliance."
Musk's comments came after Spotify's earnings were released on Tuesday, reporting that the music-streaming app had 456 million monthly active users in the third quarter, up 20% from the same period in 2021, and 195 million paid subscribers, a 13% increase from a year ago.
Ek's Twitter post is the latest development in Spotify and Apple's prolonged dispute over the tech giant's App Store rules. Spotify has accused Apple of anti-competitive practices and previously challenged the iPhone maker's control over the App Store.
Spotify didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of US operating hours.
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