European Commission will now arbitrate a conflict between Apple and Spotify.
Spotify called for a “level playing field” – claiming Apple’s current rules favour its own music streaming service.
Spotify already submitted a formal complaint against Apple to the European Commission, claiming the iPhone maker “deliberately disadvantages” other app developers.
In a blog post, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek said Apple has introduced rules which “purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience”.
Apple, which has its own rival streaming service, takes a 30% cut of purchases on its app store – including upgrades from Spotify’s free to premium service.
Mr Ek said the fee forces Spotify to either artificially inflate the price of its premium service for customers – pushing it above the price of an Apple Music subscription – or to submit to “technical and experience-limiting restrictions” on the app.
He added that in some cases, Spotify was not able to send emails to Apple customers.
The charge can be avoided if users subscribe to Spotify a non-Apple device – such as a desktop – and then continue to use the service afterwards on their Apple device.
It applies to some digital services, but not apps such as Deliveroo and Uber.