Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

US Senators, Tech CEOs, and More Make Their Voices Heard in Our Fight for Fair Competition on the Latest For the Record' Podcast

15/12/2022

Over the past few years, it's become abundantly clear that Apple tilts the playing field. It does this in favor of its own services in order to disadvantage rivals and make it harder for companies like Spotify-and so many others-to compete. This behavior harms consumers and app developers-and it stifles innovation from companies just trying to get off the ground.

This is about much more than just Spotify, which is why we have publicly advocated for platform fairness and pushed for expanded payment options, among other things, for a number of years. We are committed to fighting for fair competition, which, in turn, will unleash innovation as well as choice for consumers.

Today, we released a special episode of Spotify: For the Record featuring a chorus of voices who are as passionately focused as we are on creating a level playing field for all. Tune in to hear from our CEO, Daniel Ek; U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut); Agrin Health CEO Karen Thomas; Fanfix CEO Harry Gestetner; Schibsted CEO Kristin Skogen Lund; and ProtonMail CEO Andy Yen as they express their concerns about the impact of Apple's unfair App Store rules on consumers and innovators alike and discuss the need for action.

Take a glimpse at what each of them had to say.

Our view is quite simple. We think that there needs to be regulation in this space. We think it is one where it has to make it clear that you as a developer or a company should be able to interact with your consumers. You should have the ability to bring new innovations to the market on equal terms as the platforms themselves, and that there should be a choice for how these consumers should be able to pay for goods and services on these platforms. And that can't be dictated by Apple. Daniel Ek, CEO, Spotify

The news that Apple plans to let rival app stores operate on iPhones in Europe shows that the arguments against our bill were simply scare tactics designed to stop it, and that's why we must pass it. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar

At the end of the day, what I would ask Tim Cook is to please support my bill. If you're not doing any of these bad things, why not support the bill? If you're in favor of competition and innovation, support the bill. If you believe that there's no unfair charges, or rents, or whatever-no copy and kill. Support the bill. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal

It doesn't matter if you're Democrat, or Republican, or another party affiliation, app developers and innovators are saying we have an issue with market access and there is a way to solve this problem. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn

I think we have to re-envision what an app store is and the boundaries and the barriers that they put up in terms of gatekeepers . . . Status quo isn't even an option anymore. We're at a fork in the road. So either we pass this legislation and we send a signal to Apple and Google to say that monopoly won't work-you're going to have to behave better and participate in a free market-or we don't. Karen Thomas, CEO, Agrin Health

I do think the majority of Gen Z is probably pretty unaware, but it's going to take things like this and small businesses speaking out, creators speaking out, waking consumers up to the fact that this is going on and this is impacting their daily lives. Harry Gestetner, co-CEO, Fanfix

Probably almost the worst issue is that Apple blocks us from having access to data about our own customers. So that means we don't know what kind of subscriptions our customers have bought via the Apple system. It means that we will either lose our business altogether or we will have very unhappy customers. Kristin Skogen Lund, CEO, Schibsted

The lack of people speaking up isn't because there is no problem. The lack of people speaking up is actually a sign of the problem because people are so afraid that they're just afraid to even say anything. And if that is the state of the Internet today, then I think that's a terrible place for the world to be. Andy Yen, CEO, ProtonMail

And they're all coming together with more than any single company at stake: I'm fighting not because of just Spotify, but because I truly, at the core of my being, believe this is right, Daniel Ek noted in the episode. And it's very important for the future of the economy and for app developers and creators alike.

We know that fair and open platforms enable better consumer experiences and allow developers to grow and thrive. When this happens, everybody wins.

Hear for yourself in the episode below.

Access the full episode transcript here.
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-12-15/us-senators-tech-ceos-and-more...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

09/06/2026

Sam Craig Joins Grass Valley as VP, Global Pre-Sales

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Arkansas TV Will Continue to Air PBS Programming

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Glensound to Show DARK22M Network Audio Interface at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

EVS Rebrands, Trims Its Name

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for June 25 Open Meeting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/06/2026

Two Alumni Win Tony Awards

Two Alumni Win Tony Awards Mike Morris and Cedric Leiba Jr. won awards for Best Orchestrations and Best Play, respectively. June 8, 2026 By Tori Donahue ...

08/06/2026

SVG Sit-Down: FIFA's Oscar Sanchez and HBS's Paul King on Deploying 16 Production Teams in 16 World Cup Venues

The two execs discuss the goals and the challenges of building a huge multi-cult...

08/06/2026

SVG All-Stars: Judi Weiss, Senior Manager, Remote Operations (Studio), ESPN

This industry legend has been a road warrior since the early '90s and is, today, a lynchpin on College GameDay The sports-production industry continues to ...

08/06/2026

DAZN Extends Combat Sports Portfolio with EFC Partnership

DAZN has agreed a multi-year rights partnership with Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), expanding its global combat sports portfolio. DAZN will broadcast EFC...

08/06/2026

Whitepaper: TVU Networks Tackles the Future of Sports Production

As fans move across broadcast, streaming, social, mobile and creator-led platforms, and they expect every angle, in real time, TVU Networks has released a new e...

08/06/2026

Infront Strengthens Diamond League Global Broadcast Network Through Spate of New Agreements

Infront has further strengthened the 2026 Diamond League's international bro...

08/06/2026

Grass Valley Appoints Sam Craig as Vice President, Global Pre-Sales

Grass Valley has announced the appointment of Sam Craig as Vice President, Global Pre-Sales. Based in the United States, Craig will lead Grass Valley's glob...

08/06/2026

SMPTE Announces Summer 2026 IP Networking and ST 2110 Course Lineup

SMPTE has announced its summer 2026 education lineup covering IP networking and SMPTE ST 2110, including two standalone courses, a 13-week boot camp, and a hand...

08/06/2026

Sportradar and Kalshi Announce Multi-Year Data and Infrastructure Partnership for Prediction Markets

Sportradar Group AG has announced a multi-year global agreement with Kalshi, a p...

08/06/2026

FIFA and Gamefam Launch FIFA World Cup 2026 Event on Roblox

FIFA and Gamefam have announced the launch of a FIFA World Cup 2026 event on Roblox, running June 5 through July 31, 2026. The event centers on FIFA Super Socce...

08/06/2026

Stanley Pup 2026: Fun Is the Goal When the Rescue-Dog Competition Returns for Year 3

A collaboration of NHL Productions, Monumental Sports, and Michael Levitt Produc...

08/06/2026

Bryce Adair, CBS Production Assistant, Dies in Car Crash at 31

CBS Sports production staffer Bryce Adair has died at the age of 31 after sustaining injuries during a car accident on Wednesday while in Ohio working the the P...

08/06/2026

Behind the Mic: Russell Wilson and Kyle Long Join CBS Sports The NFL Today

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...

08/06/2026

WMT Digital Launches Sports Customer Data Platform Built to Turn Fan Intelligence into Revenue

WMT Digital today announced the launch of WMT Fan Intelligence, designed to unif...

08/06/2026

Miami Heat Ink New Deal With WPLG Local 10, Join NBAs Growing OTA Crowd

The Heat are the seventh NBA team to air their games over-the-air next season...

08/06/2026

Paramount and UFC Expand Media Rights Partnership to Canada Beginning in 2027

Paramount and UFC have announced an expansion of their media rights partnership making Paramount the exclusive home of UFC Numbered Event main cards in Canada ...

08/06/2026

Qatar Football Association Deploys Virtual Advertising Technology for First Time with Sponix

The Qatar Football Association (QFA), in cooperation with Sponix and broadcaster...

08/06/2026

Project B Appoints HBS as Official Host Broadcaster for Global Basketball Circuit

Project B has announced the appointment of Host Broadcast Services (HBS) as Offi...

08/06/2026

Ohio State's Marco Fragale on the Growth of On-Campus B1G+ Productions and StudentU

The Buckeyes now produce and stream upwards of 200 sports events annually with a...

08/06/2026

Meet the New GLOW Ambassadors Leading Spotify's Global Pride Celebration

At Spotify, our commitment to the LGBTQIA community is year-round. Through GLOW, our global music program, we celebrate and amplify the contributions of queer ...

08/06/2026

GearExpo UK: Keyboard & Synth Update

Get Hands-on With Keyboard & Synth Brands GearExpo UK wouldn't be complete without some synth action, and we've got some of the industry's most ...

08/06/2026

IK Multimedia's ARC On-Ear gains IEM support

50 popular in-ear monitoring system profiles added The latest update for IK Multimedia's headphone-correction system has just arrived, and introduces ca...

08/06/2026

Audeze announce the MM-520

Manny Marroquin signature cans upgraded with SLAM Technology The flagship model in Audeze's Manny Marroquin Signature Series has just been treated to an...

08/06/2026

Air domain supremacy redefined - New counter UAS, space solutions and directional communications from Rohde & Schwarz debut at ILA

Air domain supremacy redefined - New counter UAS, space solutions and directiona...

08/06/2026

BBC announces Hercule, starring Edward Bluemel as Agatha Christie's legendary detective Hercule Poirot

he BBC and BritBox have announced that Edward Bluemel (We Might Regret This, My ...

08/06/2026

Sam Craig Joins Grass Valley as VP, Global Presales

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/06/2026

SMPTE Sets Course Lineup With ST 2110, IP Networking Focus

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/06/2026

Glensound puts practical audio connectivity centre stage...

Dante interfaces, intercom and control systems for modern AV environments Glensound will showcase a focused range of networked audio and intercom solutions fo...

08/06/2026

Bminty and T18 celebrates the channel s 1st anniversary -...

Bminty is proud to celebrate the first anniversary of T18, the new free national French DTT channel launched on June 6, 2025. This symbolic milestone also marks...

08/06/2026

DaVinci Resolve Used For Global Collaboration on Tony Foster Documentary

DaVinci Resolve Used For Global Collaboration on Tony Foster Documentary Brie Clayton June 8, 2026 0 Comments DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Cl...

08/06/2026

New York Cracks Down on AI Bots

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/06/2026

Sky introduces Real Time feature on Sky Glass and Sky Stream to bring fans closer to the World Cup action

Plus, 20% off TVs ahead of kick-offMonday 8 June 2026 Sky introduces Real Time...

08/06/2026

FOX Secures Live NFL Game Package in Mexico Starting in Fall 2026

FOX Secures Live NFL Game Package in Mexico Starting in Fall 2026 Agreement Features Thursday Night Football, Sunday Games Package, Thanksgiving Day Games, al...

08/06/2026

FOX One, FOX Sports and Indeed Name Austin Franklin and Kevin Akoto as FOX One Chief World Cup Watchers

FOX One, FOX Sports and Indeed Name Austin Franklin and Kevin Akoto as FOX One C...

08/06/2026

Hamburg Open. Hamburg. 14-15 January 2026

Meet us on the show floor Stand #286310 Discover Nara, the media management tool used by major facilities including Harbor and Molinare. Nara v2 introduces re...

08/06/2026

Micro Salon. Paris. 5-6 February 2026

L'art de l'Image dans Reflet dans un diamant mort' Une conversation avec le directeur de la photographie Manuel Dacosse, SBC et l' talonneur Pe...

08/06/2026

HPA Tech Retreat. Rancho Mirage. 15-19 February 2026

Embracing today's modern media workflows: FilmLight presents Nara 2.0, with FilmLight API Designed to support the growing demands of today's production ...

08/06/2026

Beyond the prompt: Colour grading in the age of AI. Berlin. 18 February 2026

Moderated by Andy Minuth, FilmLight's Colour Workflow Specialist Wednesday 18 February 6:00pm / Doors open 7:00pm / Presentation in German 8:00pm / Drin...

08/06/2026

Modern workflow simplified: FilmLight presents Nara and Daylight with FilmLight API. London. 14 April 2026

Join us on April 14 at 10:00am for a technical roundtable with the Filmlight dev...

08/06/2026

The Fundamentals of Coding and Machine-Assisted Development. London. Various

You're invited to FLAPI Classroom The fundamentals of coding and machine-assisted development These sessions will help you build the skills needed to cre...

08/06/2026

Colour Masterclass at MELS. Montreal. 9 May 2026

With Sylvain Canaux (St Louis, Paris) and J r me Cloutier (MELS, Montreal) Wednesday 6 May Pick your time: 1:00PM / 5:00PM Note: The presentation will be hel...

08/06/2026

Simplify your workflows with FLAPI. Los Angeles. 9 June 2026

FilmLight, 1107 N El Centro Ave, Los Angeles Doors open at 3:30pm Join the FilmLight team on June 9th at 4pm to learn how FilmLight products and APIs can stre...