Spotify is once again facing another industry complaint, this time with music publishers accusing the streaming giant of "fraudulent" payment schemes "harming millions of consumers and the music marketplace."
In a Federal Trade Commission filing on Wednesday, the National Music Publishers' Association accused Spotify of deceiving customers with their "bait-and-switch subscription schemes" that only benefit the company.
According to the complaint, Spotify has been rolling out subscription bundles and subscription fee increases without rightfully compensating the music artists it profits from.
The NMPA claimed these practices directly violate the FTC's mandates of "problematic negative-option practices," including methods to confuse users canceling their subscriptions through "dark
patterns and confusing website interfaces."
This is in addition to the platform moving more features from its ad-supported free tier behind paywalls to force more users into its subscription service.
The complaint came after the NMPA accused Spotify earlier of "distributing unauthorized" music to users without compensating its original creators.
The association warned the company to remove all unlicensed music on the platform or "face copyright liability for continued use of these works."
Spotify Retains Users Despite Subscription Price Hike
Despite the subscription price hike, there have been little to no indications of an impact on Spotify's user count as many people chose to stay on the platform.
This was the second time Spotify had increased its subscription fees over the past 12 months, the first one being a $1 price increase for all subscription bundles last July.
As of writing, no competitors have yet raised anti-trust alarms against the company as other subscription services have also increased their prices this year.
Related Article : Spotify Confirms Another Subscription Price Hike This Year
Music Industry Clash Against Streaming, Socia Platforms
The potential FTC crackdown on Spotify only follows earlier clashes between the music industry and platform giants over licensing disputes and rightful compensation.
Universal Music Group previously pulled all of its music artists' tracks from TikTok after the two industry giants disputed over licensing rights involving AI.
The companies later smoothed out a deal months after the initial fight but not before hurtling accusations against each other.
