How Spotify Survived the Tyranny of Apple Music

Here’s how Spotify Survived the Tyranny of Apple Music

In 2015, Apple tried to CRUSH Spotify.

• Threatened to remove them from App Store
• Demanded 30% of all revenue
• Blocked their app updates

But Spotify’s response was genius.

Here’s how a Swedish startup outsmarted the world’s biggest company.

2006: Daniel Ek started Spotify in Sweden.

The music industry was dying:

• Piracy killed 50% of revenues
• CD sales collapsed
• iTunes dominated legal downloads

Everyone said streaming would fail.

By 2015, Spotify was growing fast:

• 75M active users
• Present in 58 countries
• Worth $8.4B

Then Apple decided to enter music streaming.

Their weapon? Apple Music.

Their advantage? Control of the App Store.

Apple’s strategy was brutal:

1. Charged 30% fee on all subscriptions
2. Banned links to external payment options
3. Blocked app updates mentioning prices
4. Pre-installed Apple Music on 1B+ devices

They were choking Spotify slowly.

The numbers were devastating:

• Spotify: $12.99 on iOS (to cover Apple’s 30%)
• Spotify: $9.99 everywhere else
• Apple Music: $9.99 everywhere

Apple could undercut Spotify using Spotify’s own money.

Pure genius. Crazy competition.

But then Ek made a shocking move:

Instead of surrendering, he went nuclear.

Filed an antitrust complaint with the EU.

Apple’s response? “Spotify wants all the benefits of a free app without being free.”

But then Ek made a shocking move:

Instead of surrendering, he went nuclear.

Filed an antitrust complaint with the EU.

Apple’s response? “Spotify wants all the benefits of a free app without being free.”

Spotify launched TimeToPlayFair.com

Exposed Apple’s practices to the world:

• Rejected app updates 12 times
• Blocked Spotify from HomePod
• Prevented Siri integration
• Restricted user communications

The tech world was stunned by their boldness.

The war escalated:

• EU opened formal investigation
• US Congress questioned Apple
• Other developers joined the fight
• South Korea changed their laws

David was winning against Goliath.

2021: The first victory.

Apple forced to allow external payment links.

Their 30% tax started crumbling.

But here’s the crazy part:

During this entire war, Spotify kept growing:

The growth was insane:

2015: 75M users
2017: 140M users
2019: 248M users
2021: 365M users
2023: 489M users

While fighting the world’s biggest company, they added 414M users.

How?

Ek’s strategy was brilliant:

1. Made the fight public
2. United other developers
3. Focused on user experience
4. Kept innovating (podcasts, audiobooks)
5. Never backed down

They turned Apple’s pressure into free marketing.

Today:

• Spotify: 489M users
• Apple Music: 88M users

The ‘little Swedish startup’ is 5.5x bigger than Apple Music.

They didn’t just survive – they dominated.

The lesson is clear:

When a giant tries to crush you, don’t hide.

Fight in public.
Build alliances.
Turn their size into a weakness.

David beats Goliath by changing the rules of the game.

Written by Oscar Hoole